With Ruben Amorim still the favourite to land the Liverpool job, talk is turning to who he could sign for the Reds.
There’s still no concrete confirmation that Amorim will indeed be the man tasked with following in Jurgen Klopp’s footsteps this summer.
However, after reports that the Sporting manager has been handed a three-year deal at Anfield, it does kind of feel like a matter of time.
Should Amorim be the man tasked with getting the most out of Liverpool’s first-team squad, he may need a little help in the transfer window. Thankfully, it looks like Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards are set to provide it.
Speaking exclusively to Rousing The Kop, journalist Graeme Bailey claims that the Reds are ‘very much’ in the mix to make a big signing this summer.
Liverpool fans told to ‘keep an eye’ on Viktor Gyokeres
If you’d have asked Liverpool fans two weeks ago what they most need in this summer’s transfer window, the answer would probably have been a new centre-back or defensive midfielder.
However, having watched their forward line pretty much fall to pieces in front of goal, those answers may now have changed.
With question marks over the futures of Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz, Liverpool might have needed a new attacker anyway. But their recent profligacy has suggested that the Reds should sign one regardless.
And according to Bailey, Liverpool are looking to address that. As they negotiate with Amorim about coming to the club, the journalist says the Reds are also discussing which players could join him from Lisbon, with striker Viktor Gyokeres in their thoughts.
“There’s talks ongoing about who might follow him [Amorim] from Sporting. That is happening. Gyokeres being one of them,” Bailey claims. “Will one of the defenders come, [Goncalo] Inacio, [Ousmane] Diomande? No doubt they’ll be talking to him about what he feels is the best option there.
“I think there’s a good chance a couple could come with him, I do. Gyokeres is a fascinating one to keep an eye on, Man United have held talks and Liverpool are very much in for him as well.”
Should Liverpool sign Viktor Gyokeres
We hadn’t expected that Liverpool would really need to look at a signing in the profile of Gyokeres this summer. Maybe a new wide forward could be on the agenda, but not a ‘striker’ type.
However, it does look as though Darwin Nunez is not going to fully correct his tendency to miss big chances at crucial times. Notoriously focused on data, perhaps Edwards and Hughes have seen enough.
If Liverpool’s new sporting director – and manager – don’t fancy Nunez then they’d have to replace him. It might not seem the best idea to spend another massive fee on a striker from Portugal, but Gyokeres has been brilliant this season.
With 36 goals in 43 games, the Swede has already outscored the 34 Darwin got in his final season for Benfica. It looks like a heck of price, but maybe paying his reported £83m release clause could be justified. Let’s wait and see if anything develops.