Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has hinted that he would like to see another attacking signing happen before the September 1 transfer deadline — after the Reds sold Darwin Nunez to Saudi Arabia.

Against Crystal Palace in the Community Shield, Arne Slot admitted Hugo Ekitike was unable to play the full 90 minutes at this stage of the summer, but he didn't have any other number nine options to bring on in his place.

Nunez moved to Al Hilal for a fee of $62 million (£46 million) plus add-ons.



Luis Diaz, meanwhile, joined Bayern Munich at the end of last month in a move that could be worth up to $88 million (£66 million) in total.

Virgil van Dijk calls for striker signing after Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz exits	Leeds ready to 'make no-brainer Beto approach' after striker exits sanctioned	Crystal Palace 2-2 Liverpool

Ekitike cost a substantial $106 million (£79 million) to bring in from Eintracht Frankfurt but he is one of only four senior attackers on Liverpool's books at the moment, one of which is Federico Chiesa.

Chiesa barely played last season and wasn't trusted by Arne Slot until after the Premier League title was confirmed.

Hugo Ekitike scored an excellent goal on Sunday.

"It is always nice to score a goal not only for Hugo but also for Jeremie Frimpong, if you start with a new club," Slot said.