Liverpool urged to rival Arsenal and Chelsea for £160m summer transfer
That would be a huge coup.
Liverpool have been urged not to rest on their laurels in the summer transfer window and, instead, try to sign Arsenal and Chelsea target Alexander Isak.
Arne Slot’s side have taken a commanding stranglehold on the Premier League title race after a superb start to the season under their new manager.
But two draws in their last three games has just left the door slightly ajar for Arsenal who could move within five points of the Reds with a win against West Ham on Saturday.
Liverpool came in for criticism from some quarters for their profligate midweek display against Aston Villa having wasted numerous chances to wrap up the game in the second half.
And perhaps there was no better chance than the one presented to Darwin Nunez who inexplicably blazed over the bar with an open-goal at his mercy.
While Slot has opted to play without a traditional striker for large parts of the season, John Arne Riise is adamant that Nunez’s midweek showing was a clear indication of where his former club must strengthen in the summer.
‘Sometimes you have players in the team that you love watching and you love having a team and Nunez is one of them. He fights, he works hard, he is that kind of character,’ Riise told Metro courtesy of BetMGM.
‘So often he gets these chances and you think ‘Yeah, now he’s going to loosen up now, he’s going score’, but it hasn’t come for him.
‘And so, no matter how much I love his personality and how he plays, Liverpool are a top, top club that need a striker who scores goals on a regular basis.
‘We have (Mohamed) Salah but he’s not a striker, he’s a winger. We need a striker who is more clinical and will take care of his chances when he gets them. You will miss some but Nunez has missed quite a few massive chances that he should have scored.
‘So it’s a hard one being a Liverpool fan and loving Nunez as a player but if you look at the team and what the team needs to stay up there at the top, I think we need to look at a striker who is more clinical in front of the goal.’
The future of several key Liverpool players remains up in the air but Riise believes the club should make signing a striker their number-one priority in the summer and namechecked Newcastle’s Isak as his dream signing.
The Swede has notched up 17 goals and five assists in 23 league games this season for Eddie Howe’s side and is likely to be one of the most in-demand forwards in Europe this summer.
Arsenal and Chelsea have long-been rumoured with the 25-year-old, but any Premier League club wanting to secure a deal may have to break the British transfer record with Newcastle reportedly slapping a £160million price tag on their prized asset.
Riise, however, is confident that Liverpool could tempt Isak with a move to Anfield, saying: ‘I’ve seen the rumours saying that you he would love a move to Liverpool as well.
‘Every striker would love to go to Liverpool at the moment when how they play, but I think it would be a great addition to the team.
‘He plays football with a smile on his face, he likes to be creative, he’s quick, he’s very good in front of goal so I think that would be a great signing. If there’s one place I think Liverpool should strengthen or do something in the summer it’s the striker position for sure.’
Left-back is another area that Riise would like to see the club strengthen and is confident that a new, young full-back can help push Andy Robertson back to his best form in a Liverpool shirt.
‘I think Andy Robertson needs tougher competition at left-back,’ he said. ‘Even though (Kostas) Tsimikas is a good player, I don’t think he’s that good a player that he pushes Robertson enough.
‘Robertson has dipped in form this season compared to what we’ve come to expect over the last four or five years but he’s been at such a high level that people expect so much from him.
‘I had the same thing at Liverpool. The last year I was there when I was sold to Roma, I wasn’t up to my standard and suddenly, boom, you’re gone.
‘Obviously, it’s different for Robertson but Liverpool need to bring a young, promising left-back in to make Robertson think: ‘Oh s**, I got to step it’. I don’t think he’s doing it on purpose but maybe if he sees that in pre-season next summer, he knows he has to step up or he might lose my position.’
John Arne Riise was speaking on behalf of BetMGM. Play the £1million Golden Goals game this season by correctly predicting Premier League scores. BeGambleAware |18+
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