There are a number of reasons why Liverpool have failed to make a more sustained run at the Premier League title this term.
Results have not been great since the start of April, while the decision of Jurgen Klopp to announce that he’s leaving the club at the end of the season was perhaps poorly timed.
Defensively, the Reds haven’t always been at their best, while profligacy in attack has also undermined their creative work.
For the latter, incoming head coach Arne Slot may want to look back for inspiration for a brighter future at Anfield…
More Than a Striker
Those placing a football bet may be surprised to see Liverpool priced as long as 500/1 to win the Premier League title with a handful of games to play.
As such, any bet on Premier League title action will focus on the shorter odds chances of Manchester City and Arsenal, with the Reds eating their dust as far as their respective points tallies are concerned.
Slot will come in this summer with an emphasis on evolution, rather than revolution – for him to tear up Klopp’s blueprint would be foolhardy at best.
Feyenoord star has just given the game away about Arne Slot as Liverpool appointment nears#LFC https://t.co/J0ntlipwjN
— Liverpool FC News (@LivEchoLFC) May 7, 2024
But recruits will be needed in the transfer window. A new centre-back is almost a formality, given the occasional struggles of Virgil van Dijk and those playing to the side of him, while the jury is still out on whether the midfield balance is correct.
Answers will be sought in attack too, where the feeling is that Liverpool are still short of a top-class striker – Reds fans only need to look to Manchester City to see the heights that can be reached with a ‘proper’ frontman.
But that’s not to say that Liverpool need an out-and-out number nine, with their best striking exponent in recent years – Roberto Firmino – confirmation that intelligence, movement, and a willingness to link the play are just as important to a side with no shortage of goalscoring options.
Slot has utilised a 4-3-3 system at Feyenoord with an occasionally deep-lying striker, so he is at least well-versed in the Liverpool way. But who will he deploy up front?
A New Era
The Dutchman may decide that the solution is already available in-house.
Although he has been deployed from the flanks, some believe that Diogo Jota is at his best when playing through the middle. His goal return – 56 goals in 145 appearances for the club – is pretty good when you consider that he has been in and out of the team, but concerns over his injury record suggest that Slot may be best served not relying on the Portuguese too heavily.
Cody Gakpo was signed in January 2023 to play through the middle, but the player’s versatility has counted against him, to some extent – he’s been moved out to either wing and even played as an attacking midfielder this season, which doesn’t further his argument.
Gakpo heads in a third.#LIVTOT // 3-0
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 5, 2024
That said, Gakpo’s outstanding performance as a striker against Tottenham – where he scored and assisted in the 4-2 victory in May – is proof positive that he’s up to the task.
The rumour mill will no doubt circle this summer, with Liverpool being linked with any number of forwards that can play in the Firmino role. But it may just be that the Reds already have the man for the job in Gakpo.