Liverpool can find 'new Daniel Sturridge' in wildcard transfer to complete Jürgen Klopp's
attack
With the futures of Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah both up in the air, Liverpool's transfer
priority is clear this summer.
Julian Ward simply has to resolve the future of the star duo and at the same time begin
building for the future.
That future could involve one of Mané or Salah departing for pastures new, as well
as new personnel being added to the frontline.
The profile of that player will be particularly interesting.
At the moment, Liverpool are blessed with attack stars who are extremely flexible and
versatile and can play in a number of positions, but with change on the horizon, and key departures
in attack, Julian Ward could opt to bring in a different type of forward this summer
to give Jürgen Klopp a new dimension.
This sort of evolution could see Liverpool bring in a more 'traditional' number nine
in the ilk of perhaps Divock Origi and another previous iteration, Daniel Sturridge.
Klopp is no stranger to playing with that kind of forward.
He had done so impeccably with the likes of Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Robert Lewandowski
at Borussia Dortmund and there is no reason why he could not repeat the feat at Anfield.
One target who has been heavily linked with a move to Liverpool and who is more of a traditional
number nine is Darwin Núñez, but right now the figure being touted around for him is
close to around £60m to £80m which is excessive for a forward who is still raw and far from
the finished product.
Instead, Liverpool could see a better alternative closer to home in Ivan Toney.
Toney excelled in the Championship last season and he has made the step-up to Premier League
football with ease, making 17 goal contributions for Brentford, ranking him in the top 15 most
productive attackers in the division.
Impressively, he is the only player playing for a team on the bottom half of the table
on the list.
Blessed with speed, and great positional awareness, Toney thrives at finding space inside the
box, but he is also adept at physical duels and can be a threat in the air.
What will be endearing for Liverpool is that he is not necessarily one dimensional either
and he can drop back and involve himself in build-up play.
For Brentford this season Toney averaged the third most shot-creating-actions per 90 in
the team (2.48) as per FBref and he registered the most key passes (40) in the entire team.
Toney has the kind of flair and speed that Daniel Sturridge possessed in his prime at
Liverpool, and his creative qualities could come to the fore playing in a better quality
attacking side.
Most importantly, he would relish the prospect of playing for Liverpool with the 26-year-old
a self-confessed Liverpool supporter.
“I support Liverpool, I’m a Liverpool fan.
If they come knocking, who knows,” he told Total Media.
If he is available for the right price, FSG may just be tempted to pounce on a player
who has already proven it in the Premier League, and would offer Liverpool a new dimension.