Signing an elite attacker to replace Mohamed Salah is Liverpool’s biggest job of the summer.
As the window approaches, The Athletic have broken down Liverpool’s efforts to sign a forward, with six Premier League options listed as players the Reds are eyeing.
Yankuba Minteh, Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen, Rayan, Crysencio Summerville and Anthony Gordon are all very different profiles. Some feel like natural Liverpool signings. Others look more like expensive compromises.
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Liverpool’s Premier League forward targets ranked
6. Crysencio Summerville, West Ham, 24, left winger
Summerville is a talented player, but he would not solve Liverpool’s biggest attacking issue.
The Reds have lacked physicality and power in wide areas this season, and Summerville would not really change that. He is sharp, technical and dangerous in moments, but he can also be frustratingly inconsistent.
There are far better fits higher up this list.
5. Jarrod Bowen, West Ham, 29, right winger
Bowen is a very good Premier League attacker.
He scores, he works, and he has carried West Ham for long spells. In terms of reliability, he is probably one of the safer options on the list.
But he is also the oldest player here. Liverpool are trying to replace an all-time great in Salah, and Bowen does not feel like the kind of high-potential, long-term signing they usually chase.
He would improve the squad, but not enough to justify making him the main attacking move of the summer.
4. Anthony Gordon, Newcastle United, 25, left winger
Gordon is the player Liverpool have liked for the longest time. The interest makes sense. He is direct, rapid and homegrown.
The issue is value. Newcastle’s asking price has been reported around £75m, and that feels steep for a player who may already be close to his ceiling.
Gordon is a strong player, but Liverpool should be looking for something a bit more exciting at that kind of price.
3. Rayan, Bournemouth, 19, right winger
Breakout Bournemouth star Rayan may have the highest ceiling of anyone on this list.
The 19-year-old — who only arrived in England from Brazil in January — is one of the most exciting players to watch in the top flight and naturally comfortable operating from the right. That makes him one of the more obvious aesthetic fits as Liverpool look for someone who can eventually take on (some of) Salah’s responsibility.
Bournemouth would not be easy sellers especially after such a strong season, but this is exactly the kind of move Liverpool should be looking at. Rayan is still developing, but the raw materials are seriously exciting.
2. Mohammed Kudus, Tottenham Hotspur, 25, right winger/attacking midfielder
Kudus feels like one of the most obvious Salah-profile options in the Premier League. Even if Spurs stay up, as they look likely to, would Liverpool be able to tempt him to a better situation?
He carries a bigger goal threat than most of the names on this list, and would be an instant hit at Anfield.
Before his injury, Kudus had arguably been Tottenham’s best player. Pretty impressive for a new signing to stand out in an unsettled side. Liverpool could do far worse.
1. Yankuba Minteh, Brighton, 21, right winger
Minteh should be top of Liverpool’s list.
Still only 21, he is already one of the most explosive wingers in the league. There is rawness there, but that is also part of the appeal. Liverpool would be buying a player they can shape, not one already set in his ways.
Physically, he looks like the most natural long-term Salah replacement here. He can stretch teams, press hard, attack space and beat defenders in both directions.
Brighton would not make it easy, of course. But if Liverpool are serious about building the next version of their attack, Minteh feels like the swing worth taking.
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