Liverpool head coach Arne Slot proved everyone wrong when he successfully replaced Jurgen Klopp at Anfield one year ago and guided the Reds to the Premier League title.
The 2025/26 campaign will present new challenges, with all at Liverpool, both as a club and a city, mourning the tragic passing of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, but Anfield have proved time and time again their ability to come together and embrace the support of their fanbase, and vice versa.
Sporting director Richard Hughes is currently faced with an imminent approach from Barcelona for versatile forward Luis Diaz, 28, having rejected the La Liga champions’ advances last month.
But La Blaugrana have not been deterred, and having missed out on top target Nico Williams after the winger signed a new contract with Athletic Bilbao, efforts have been redoubled, Diaz moving ahead of Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford on the list.
With Diaz having spent so much of the recent campaign filling in as Liverpool’s central striker, his sale would call for a new centre-forward, as has been a Reds priority for several months.
Especially with Darwin Nunez in the process of signing for Napoli.
The latest on Darwin Nunez to Napoli
Nunez joined Liverpool in 2022, arriving from SL Benfica in a deal billed as a club record at £85m. However, the Uruguayan’s struggles in England have seen a series of clauses left hanging, with the actual fee coming in at £71m.
He has obvious qualities: Nunez is tenacious, a maverick and, on occasion, jaw-droppingly ambitious in the final third. However, the 25-year-old has only scored 25 Premier League goals across his three terms, with just seven goals across all competitions coming last season under Slot’s wing.
Moreover, Slot remarked earlier in 2025 that he “can’t accept” the Uruguayan’s work rate, typically a staple, after a string of disappointing appearances.
Napoli, thus, projected confidence when sauntering over to make their move, but negotiations have since left a gap between the respective clubs’ valuation of the striker.
A fee is still to be agreed, but if and when this does happen – Nunez also has admirers in the Saudi Pro League – a replacement will be needed.
Liverpool in the race for new centre-forward
According to Portuguese outlet A Bola, Liverpool and Manchester United have registered their interest in Almeria striker Luis Suarez this summer.
This is not the famed Suarez of old, but his namesake, a 27-year-old Colombian, who has been priced at €25m (£21m) after his prolific campaign in Spain’s second division.
The one-time Watford prospect is also on Sporting Lisbon’s transfer list as they prepare to sell Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal, and it’s for this reason that the Liga Portugal’s two-in-a-row champions are felt to have the advantage in the race as things stand.
Why Liverpool want Luis Suarez
Suarez isn’t the youngest number nine on the block, but he’s certainly shown that he knows where the back of the net is, having scored 41 goals and provided 13 assists across 79 fixtures for Almeria.
And a good haul of that came last term, in the Segunda Division. Indeed, Suarez scored 31 goals across 43 matches in all competitions, albeit with 27 goals arriving in Spain’s second tier.
Although saying that, Suarez’s hat-trick over Sevilla in the Copa del Rey emphasised his natural prolificness, something which could serve Liverpool well over the season to come.
His completeness and physicality could even see him prove to be Liverpool’s own version of Gyokeres, who indeed looks set to sign for Arsenal in a deal worth less than Sporting’s original £68m asking price.
Gyokeres is one of the most dangerous goalscorers in Europe, having scored 97 goals across 102 matches in two years with Sporting. His physicality and powerful performances are rare attributes, applied as well as they are, but Liverpool could sign someone similar in Almeria’s frontman, who has been praised for his “crazy” quality by talent scout Jacek Kulig.
Sporting have identified the Colombian as the perfect replacement, after all, with Gyokeres also 27 years old.
Suarez has his similarities; he’s prolific, but he’s also a veritable machine when it comes to ball-striking. As you can see below, Suarez is one of the most relentless shooters in the trade, hitting the target more times than Mohamed Salah, behind only Gyokeres and Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe.
Suarez played the 2024/25 campaign in Spain’s Segunda division, but he’s an experienced and well-oiled player whose goalscoring ability was well received by an Almeria side who finished the term with the highest goal tally in the division (72).
Though Suarez is, of course, not on Gyokeres’ level, Liverpool could bolster their ranks with a shrewd attacking option this summer, one whose clinical nature has been underscored over the past year.
Matches (starts)
41 (41)
33 (31)
Goals
27
39
Assists
8
7
Shots (on target)*
4.1 (1.6)
4.2 (2.4)
Big chances missed
27
23
Pass completion
74%
73%
Big chances created
10
11
Key passes*
1.4
1.9
Dribbles*
1.2
1.8
Ball recoveries*
2.0
2.3
Duels won*
4.5
5.5
As you can see from the collated statistics above, Suarez’s sucess in duel, partnered with his dribbling ability and natural creativity, provide him with the dynamism and roundedness that aligns with Sweden striker Gyokeres’ own skill set.
The hunt for a player of Hugo Ekitike or Victor Osimhen’s standing continues, but if Liverpool and enrich their ranks with this shrewd signing, Slot will likely find that the price tag is repaid on the pitch.
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2 ByAngus Sinclair