Liverpool transfer news expert Neil Jones has provided some insight into the club’s plans up front this summer following recent links with Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.
Writing in the latest edition of his exclusive CaughtOffside column, Jones was quick to rule out the Reds being in the market for Osimhen or a similar kind of big-name, big-money centre-forward this summer.
Liverpool signed Darwin Nunez last year and then brought in Cody Gakpo in January, so it now seems unlikely that they’ll be in the market for a similar kind of signing, even if Osimhen is a fine player.
The Nigeria international was superb in Serie A last season, but Jones can only see someone like that becoming a priority if there’s a major injury anywhere else in attack.
“While I don’t like to dismiss stories or talk down what other journalists might be hearing from their sources, I have to say I would be amazed to see Liverpool sign Victor Osimhen, as has been reported elsewhere, or any other striker of that calibre or asking price, for that matter,” Jones said.
“Liverpool have got a lot of options up front now, having signed Darwin Nunez last summer and Cody Gakpo in January, most likely with the expectation that Roberto Firmino was going to leave, which he has. There’s also Luis Diaz coming back from injury and Diogo Jota ending the season well once he returned to fitness.
“It hasn’t quite happened for Nunez yet, but my understanding is the plan is to stick with this crop of players up front, so I’d be very surprised to see another forward signed this summer, unless of course there was another major injury in that department.
“Osimhen’s obviously a very good player who’s had a great season, but I just don’t see Liverpool being in the market for that kind of player – they might more likely look for a younger forward as a signing for the future who could grow into being a starter later, but for the first-team I think the focus remains on midfield as a priority, and then beyond that maybe a centre-back.”
Jones added that Liverpool still have faith in Nunez, even after a mixed first season at Anfield.
The Uruguay international has shown some potential, and Jones thinks that improving his English could be key to helping him improve in his second season.
“I think Klopp went on record as saying that the language barrier has been an issue for Nunez. He hadn’t taken to English as they might’ve hoped, unlike, for example, Luis Diaz,” he said.
“I think that has affected Nunez’s integration, so they’ll hope he’s made strides on that ahead of pre-season. It does make a big difference, especially with a manager like Jurgen Klopp, who has a very specific way of doing things getting his team to play – it’s not easy to grasp the intricacies of that if you’re not up to speed with the language.
“Still, I think the club still has a lot of faith in him, and it’s been a key part of the plan to have someone like him who can offer something a bit different up front, offering more of a presence than Firmino, stretching the play a bit more and getting in behind. I’m told there’s still a lot of faith he can do that, even if he does have to earn his place against a lot of competition. There’s certainly no major worries from Liverpool, more a desire to help him improve.”