Scouting for Liverpool: Which forwards could they buy this summer?

Liverpool are gearing up for a summer of change and will soon enter one of the most important transfer windows in the club’s recent history.

This week, The Athletic will assess possible options for the outgoing Premier League champions in the positions that are most pressing: forward, central midfield, full-back and centre-half.

We’re starting with the attack. Losing prolific goalscorer Mohamed Salah after nine years and facing up to a lengthy period without striker Hugo Ekitike, who is expected to be out for months with a ruptured Achilles, has sharpened the need to strengthen a forward line that was already light on numbers. Federico Chiesa is also likely to go, while there seems to be little appetite to reintegrate Harvey Elliott after his season out on loan at Aston Villa.

So who could be in contention to come in?

Right forward options

One certainty for the upcoming transfer window is that Liverpool must add a right-winger. Of the current squad, Rio Ngumoha is better on the left and right-back or right wing-back Jeremie Frimpong does not provide enough threat when played further forward.

Last summer’s additions mean the focal point of Liverpool’s attack has moved away from the right flank, but what is clear is whoever they recruit needs to possess several qualities that ideally would include pace, the ability to win one-on-one duels and an off-the-ball intensity that makes them a disruptive presser.

Michael Olise

Age: 24
Current club: Bayern Munich

A contender for this year’s Ballon d’Or who has taken his game to another level since joining Bayern Munich from Crystal Palace two years ago and would fall into the category of the Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz signings from summer 2025 when it comes to price and talent levels.

Olise offers everything you want from a modern-day winger. He is a left-footed, right-winger who has pace, power and the fast feet to dance around any full-back. There are few in world football operating at his level. In 50 club appearances this season, he has scored 22 goals and provided 30 assists. Ridiculous numbers.

Now for the disappointing part: there’s no indication he is looking to move, and his contract runs until 2029. Bayern executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge also recently said that no price tag would make them consider selling the France international.

Yan Diomande

Age: 19
Current club: RB Leipzig

The teenager is on his way to becoming one of the most exciting wingers in world football, and the data suggests he is one of the players who profile similarly to Olise. While set to be expensive, he is a more feasible target than the Bayern man.

Having only moved to RB Leipzig last summer from Spain’s Leganes, he has wasted no time in showing off his quality. He possesses raw pace and loves to dribble — and one of his best attributes is that he is versatile, providing threat from either flank; plus, 12 goals and eight assists in 32 Bundesliga appearances as a teenager in his debut campaign is not too shabby.

The potential is obvious, which is why any fee to buy him will be significant. Like Olise, Diomande also signed a five-year deal when he arrived in Germany. And as one of the hottest prospects in Europe, Liverpool would also face competition for his signature.

Rayan

Age: 19
Current club: Bournemouth

Rayan only arrived in England this January and had the big shoes of Antoine Semenyo to fill, but in the four months since he was signed by Bournemouth for an initial £24.7million, he has wasted no time showing the talent he possesses.

The Brazilian is capable of playing on both flanks, but the left-footer is another who is most comfortable playing from the right. He uses his pace and power to carry the ball forward into central areas and has the physical frame and aerial ability required to succeed in the Premier League, even at such a young age.

While Liverpool have a good relationship with Bournemouth, getting them to sell a player who signed a five-and-a-half-year deal in the previous transfer window is a different story. It is widely reported that a €100million release clause was inserted into his contract, so he would not come cheap. There is also the issue of how long he could take to settle into English football, despite his five goals and two assists so far in 13 appearances.

Yankuba Minteh

Age: 21
Current club: Brighton & Hove Albion

If Arne Slot does continue as Liverpool head coach, as is currently expected, then he already has experience of working with Minteh, who spent a season on loan under him at Dutch side Feyenoord before joining Brighton from Newcastle United in summer 2024.

Minteh is a versatile winger who can play on either flank but favours the right, which is where Slot predominantly used him. He is quick and a progressive ball carrier but while he has nearly two seasons of Premier League football under his belt, both his decision-making and out-of-possession work need refinement.

He would be the cheapest of the four options covered in this section of our article, but that would partly be because of his lack of output. Minteh would need to make a significant leap from the three goals and four assists in 32 Premier League appearances in all competitions he has contributed for Brighton so far this season.

Wide players who can switch between wings

Bradley Barcola

Age: 23
Current club: Paris Saint-Germain

He’s the most exciting potentially obtainable player on the list, and one who would definitely lift spirits among Liverpool supporters going into next season.

Barcola leaving PSG, even if his game time has been limited, would be tough, given the French club’s status as one of the best teams in the world, and Liverpool pulling together the funds to sign him also appears to be unlikely after last summer’s big spend.

But he’s the type of player who should be considered if they are serious about strengthening for next season. At his age (turning 24 in early September), he’s the perfect profile of player who is ready to make an immediate impact, stick around for years, and still hold considerable value in the future.

He can play on either wing, is brilliant in one-vs-one situations and showed last season, with 21 goals and 20 assists, that he’s a special talent just waiting to be fully loved somewhere.

Crysencio Summerville

Age: 24
Current club: West Ham United

Liverpool’s famous sign above the tunnel leading to the pitch at Anfield might need to be changed to ‘This is The Netherlands’ if another Dutchman is added to the squad.

Yet Summerville may turn out to be a market opportunity too good to turn down this summer, especially if West Ham are relegated to the Championship over the next two weeks.

He is right-footed but can play on either wing and has developed a knack for scoring and setting up important goals this season. He also has plenty of pace and trickery. The question, however, would be: does he offer enough in terms of variety when Frimpong attacks in a similar way?

Mohammed Kudus

Age: 25
Current club: Tottenham Hotspur

If West Ham survive and it’s Tottenham who are relegated and forced to sell some of their bigger players, Kudus may become an interesting option.

His performances across the first half of his debut season with Spurs were poor and he hasn’t featured since January due to a thigh injury, but that should not diminish his qualities. The creativity he showed across the two previous seasons for West Ham earned him a big-money move across London. The Ghana international is quick, direct and can play centrally if required.

In 2024-25, Kudus’ 7.2 take-ons attempted per 90 minutes played trailed only Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku in the Premier League.

One area he needs to improve is his scoring tally, and shooting in general. While Kudus creates plenty of opportunities for others, he has struggled to find a ruthless streak in front of goal.

Antonio Nusa

Age: 21
Current club: RB Leipzig

Five goals and four assists for RB Leipzig across 34 games this season may not sound like the kind of figures that will earn him a big move. The last time Liverpool signed a senior left-sided wide player in Luis Diaz, for example, the Colombian was lighting it up for Porto, with 16 goals from 28 games in the first half of that 2021-22 season.

But you have to go deeper than the numbers.

Nusa bases his game on that of Neymar and dribbles like some of the most graceful wingers in the world. His attempted dribbles volume and success rate are almost identical to Olise’s. There’s room for improvement, too, and after a failed move to Brentford in January 2024, it’s inevitable his talent will attract Premier League interest again in the future.

Versatile forwards

Anthony Gordon

Age: 25
Current club: Newcastle United

Unsurprisingly, the locally-born forward was a name on Liverpool supporters’ lips when the idea of recruiting a versatile forward was floated after the extent of Ekitike’s injury was revealed last month. He is a player the club have explored buying in the past and fits the versatile profile.

Gordon is quick, dynamic and comfortable out wide or in the No 9 role. After a difficult season at Newcastle, he looks set to be available for the right price, but at this stage Liverpool have no plans to revive their interest in him from 2024.

Jarrod Bowen

Age: 29
Current club: West Ham United

Liverpool have been Bowen admirers in the past, but while he is another who is comfortable playing on the right or leading the line, his availability likely depends on whether West Ham are relegated.

The England international has not hit the heights of previous seasons in this one but his form has improved in recent months and his eight goals and 10 assists in the league have helped give West Ham a chance of staying up. Signing someone who turns 30 this year would deviate from Liverpool’s transfer policy, but if the price made sense, it would be worth considering an experienced Premier League player. He, like Gordon, would also help Liverpool’s homegrown quota.

Kenan Yildiz

Age: 21
Current club: Juventus

Yildiz is one of the rising stars of Serie A and capable of playing across the front three. He is most comfortable as a central playmaker, so would operate as more of a false nine if played as the central striker. The Turkey international is fleet-footed, forward-thinking and likes to take people on.

Kenan Yildiz is integral to Juventus (Marco Bertorello/AFP via Getty Images)

The 21-year-old, who has 10 goals and seven assists in 35 league appearances this season, signed a new long-term contract in February. Given that he is Juventus’ crown jewel, he would be very hard to prise away. But if the Turin club were to fail to qualify for the Champions League – they are currently third in Serie A, with the top four gaining entry to the competition — they may have to consider sales.

Rodrygo

Age: 25
Current club: Real Madrid

The Brazil international was frequently linked with Liverpool last summer and is a player who was tracked by the club before he signed for Madrid in 2018. Rodrygo can operate across the front line and has shown an ability to produce in the biggest matches.

The 25-year-old had endured a difficult season, initially struggling for playing time under then head coach Xabi Alonso. He then suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury in March which will likely keep him sidelined for the rest of the year and rules him out as a potential summer target.