Liverpool are now five points clear at the top of the pile in the Premier League as Arne Slot’s men grind out more and more wins, whilst their rivals in the ongoing title race continue to uncharacteristically slip up.
Manchester City have now inexplicably lost their last four games in all competitions, whilst the super-confident Reds have won their last four, which has led to an impressive lead at the top-flight summit.
Still, Slot won’t want his side to rest on their laurels, with a need to strengthen down the line perhaps on the agenda to keep up this blistering form, which could see the Reds recruit more firepower in attack.
Liverpool linked with new deadly striker
According to various different reports, the table-toppers could be about to enter a fierce race for the coveted services of Sporting CP goal machine Victor Gyokeres, but they certainly wouldn’t be alone in wanting a slice of the Swedish sharpshooter.
As per Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg at the start of the month, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea are all also keen on adding the ex-Coventry City sensation to their squads this January alongside Slot’s side, with City already well aware of what Gyokeres is capable of, having fired home a hat-trick in Champions League action recently versus Pep Guardiola’s men.
Viktor Gyokeres vs Manchester City
Ruben Amorim might also fancy testing the waters when he is handed the reins at Manchester United, in attempting to pull off a stunning reunion with the Sporting star, who has a ridiculous goal haul of 66 from 67 games playing for the Portuguese titans.
Of course, this is all just tentative talk, with a deal for Gyokeres meaning the Reds would have to splash the cash after a quiet summer transfer window.
Alongside that, Slot and Co might not feel a move for the in-demand Scandinavian striker is an overwhelming priority with their own Gyokeres potentially already in the squad.
Liverpool's own Gyokeres
Darwin Nunez will feel he can take on the pressurised mantle of being Liverpool’s main threat up top across the rest of this season to come if the Reds deem a move for Gyokeres not to be worthwhile this January.
The Uruguayan has been frustrating to watch in front of goal during patches of his Reds career to date – with a somewhat underwhelming 36 goals managed from 110 matches – but he was once also a revered poacher when playing in Portugal for Sporting’s Lisbon rivals Benfica.
Games played
28
33
Goals scored
26
29
Assists
4
10
Scoring frequency
77 mins
101 mins
Shots per game
3.0
3.5
Shots on target per game
1.5
1.8
Big chances missed
14
12
Big chances created
10
11
Looking at the table above, Nunez’s final season playing in Liga Portugal produced similar numbers to Gyokeres’ last full campaign at the level, with a stunning 26 goals bagged from 28 fixtures.
Of course, his Swedish counterpart did boast three more goals and six more assists, but Nunez does have a quicker scoring frequency at 77 minutes. Having missed more big chances that could have made his goal total even grander, there is a potential monster in the making here already at Slot’s disposal.
Last Premier League campaign for Liverpool, Nunez also put in some promising numbers, despite never really blossoming into a reliable machine when through on goal, with his expected goals (xG) coming in at 16.39 compared to the 11 goals he actually scored.
Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the probability of a shot resulting in a goal.
He did manage to get his team up and running last time out versus Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, however, when he powered home a fierce effort after a breakaway attack exposed the away side’s lax defending.
Once labelled as “unstoppable” when at the peak of his powers by Jurgen Klopp, it’s now time for the £85m buy from Benfica to turn into an absolute menace in attack for Slot’s men, away from Liverpool having to fork out significant wads of money to win any flashy alternative.
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