Liverpool’s transfer negotiations have been stepping up in recent days as the window officially opens.

The Reds have moved quickly to get their first signing of the summer through the door, with Jeremie Frimpong joining from Bayer Leverkusen.

Frimpong is set to be the first of a handful of new additions as Arne Slot looks to build on a stunning debut season at Anfield.

Liverpool are working on a deal for Florian Wirtz, with the expectation that the German will ultimately arrive for a record-breaking fee.

Report: Newcastle prepared to let 'superb' player leave this summer as Liverpool ready big-money move	Player undecided: Slot desperate to keep £72m man at Anfield as Saudi suitors prepare big bids	Liverpool make big-money offer for Wirtz

Beyond Wirtz, there have been claims that Liverpool want four more new signings and a striker is said to be one of their absolute priorities in that respect.

As the centre-forward market begins to thin, Hugo Ekitike has been named as a concrete target for the Reds.

But with Chelsea leading the race for Ekitike, Liverpool are reportedly turning to drastic measures to win back momentum.

There had been some suggestions that the German could play as a false nine for the Reds, but reports have since outlined that Slot has promised Wirtz the number 10 position.

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As a result, Liverpool still need a player in the mould of Ekitike.

But according to journalist Simon Phillips, the Reds have fallen well behind Chelsea in their bid to sign the Frenchman.

Writing in his Substack column, Phillips claims that Liverpool are ‘desperately’ trying to keep up with Chelsea and are ready to ‘panic sell’ Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota in order to do it.

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“Liverpool are ‘desperately’ trying to keep up with Chelsea on Ekitike and they are looking to ‘panic sell’ the likes of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, and Diogo Jota so they can make their solid move for Ekitike as well,” says Phillips.

“However, so far they have not even held any talks with the player’s agents and Liverpool have no interest in paying the asking price to land him until they can sell the three mentioned players.

So Chelsea are looking to try and get the drop on them for those reasons.”

Given Liverpool could break a British record in signing Wirtz, there is certainly some truth in the claim they’ll have to sell before going after another big signing.

Nunez and Diaz look likely to leave, with both set to bring in good-sized transfer fees.

Jota could go as well, although as things stand it’s understood that the Portuguese is not a priority sale for Liverpool.

In terms of Ekitike, it could be that Chelsea have now taken an unassailable lead over the Reds.

If that is the case, Liverpool must look to move quickly on other targets instead of attempting to claw back control.

With Benjamin Sesko seemingly on the way to Arsenal and Alexander Isak unlikely to become available, the Reds are running out of top-level options.
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