Liverpool clinched their 20th Premier League title on Sunday, thrashing Tottenham Hotspur to bestow upon Anfield the hometown celebrations they have craved for 35 years.
The wider squad came together in a huddle of pure joy as they danced across the pitch and celebrated in front of the wide-beaming supporters. However, one or two may have felt the niggling concern that this is their final trophy in a Liverpool shirt.
Diogo Jota, for example, sadly doesn’t look to have the same snap and athleticism he once had, the 28-year-old only scoring one goal across 15 appearances since recovering from muscular issues in January.
But Darwin Nunez is the player widely expected to be leaving this summer, having fallen by the wayside after his club-record £85m move from Benfica in 2022, with Fabrizio Romano confirming the news on several occasions.
The club need a new star at number nine, but who that might be is as yet indeterminable.
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54 (33)
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One thing’s for sure, Liverpool miss Bobby Firmino in his pomp.
Why Liverpool miss Bobby Firmino
It was perhaps summed up best when Nunez was played through on goal and had the chance to add a sixth as Liverpool laid siege on Spurs’ flimsy defences and claimed the Premier League title.
The Uruguayan, drained of confidence after three testing years on Merseyside, opted against striking on goal himself, sealing some form of poetic justice in capping off the title-winning result, and instead played a pass across goal to the onrushing Salah.
Firmino would have played the pass with weighted perfection. Or, perhaps, he would have recognised that striking on goal himself was by far the best option, and done just that.
Nunez, sadly, lacks in temperament what he boasts in tenacity and toughness, and after Jurgen Klopp and now Arne Slot have failed to crack the nut, Firmino’s replacement is set to leave, with a new version of the silky Brazilian targeted once again.
While Firmino’s unique take on the striker’s game is not something readily replicable, FSG are looking to sign a player with a noteworthy technical quality, actually gearing up to hijack another club’s deal.
Liverpool ready to hijack deal for new centre forward
As per TEAMtalk, Liverpool are gearing up to land a hijack on Inter Milan this summer, with the Serie A title contenders pushing to sign Jonathan David when his contract at LOSC Lille expires this summer.
Inter presented their offer to David’s camp in March and are confident that they are getting closer toward an agreement, though the temptation of Saudi Arabian riches is there and Arsenal and West Ham United want to add him to their ranks too.
While opting for a free transfer might feel somewhat deflating, David is a clinical striker with a ball-playing game that most strikers don’t boast. In that way, he could prove to be a Firmino-esque presence at number nine once again, albeit with a wildly different take.
Why Jonathan David would be perfect for Liverpool
David is a talented goalscorer, sure, but he’s also known to have a crisp and intelligent passing game. It’s one which could see him grow into a role as Slot’s very own version of Firmino, with Nunez having failed in his season-long audition for that role.
The 33-year-old didn’t score every game, but he was so important in engineering a sense of unmatched fluency, centred between Salah and Sadio Mane.
In David, Liverpool might find their best striker since the attacking maestro, one whose goalscoring skills are actually above those of both Firmino and Nunez. Indeed, since the Canadian star left Gent and signed for Lille back in 2020, he’s scored 109 goals and supplied 29 assists across 229 outings.
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Still only 25, David has demonstrated incremental growth across his five campaigns in France, with his last three campaigns establishing him as a top-class goalscorer with creative qualities to applaud.
This newfound creativity is a product of his much-improved ball game. As per FBref, David actually ranks among the top 1% of centre-forwards across Europe over the past year for pass completion, with an average success rate of 83.4%.
Firmino had plenty of tricks and flicks, but David doesn’t embroider his football with such fleet feet. He’s more economical, but that suits Slot.
The Dutch tactician is sure to be looking for a striker with a proven track record in front of goal while adding a bit flair and, most importantly, coherence to the attacking ranks.
Nunez, for example, has completed just 68% of his passes over the past year, putting him among the bottom 35% of strikers for that metric.
When Canadian football expert Tony Marinaro described David as “one of the best strikers in the world” back in 2022, many undoubtedly scoffed at such a high-held opinion.
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But consistency is the key. Just ask Nunez, for his big Liverpool move has been derailed by a distinct lack of the stuff.
David has all the ingredients to become a success for the Anfield side. He’s scored ten goals in the Champions League already (including against Liverpool this season), having played just 18 matches.
The Canada international is athletic, powerful and pacy with a crispness in possession that Firmino would be proud of.
Oh, he’s not cut from the same cloth as Liverpool’s dazzler, but then no one is. But David has a style of play, and it’s an approach which really could work a treat for Slot’s title-winning side.
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