Liverpool are interested in signing a Premier League attacker as an alternative to Alexander-Arnold and Hugo Ekitike, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.
A new striker is a must for the Reds ahead of next season, with neither Darwin Nunez nor Diogo Jota feeling like the long-term answer now.
Luis Diaz has done well at times in an unusual central role, but equally, he isn’t the solution in that position for Liverpool moving forward.
Speaking on Give Me Sport‘s Market Madness podcast, Jacobs claimed that Brighton forward Joao Pedro is a player who the Reds “like” ahead of the summer, seeing him as a different option to Isak and Ekitike:
“Liverpool are focused on getting over the line for what looks like an inevitable Premier League title. When we get to the early part of the window, there will be approaches.
“With Liverpool, I’m hearing they’re not going to drop £150million on [Alexander] Isak, but they’ll bid if he genuinely becomes available at a lower number. But they also like Hugo Ekitike and Joao Pedro.”
Is Joao Pedro good enough for Liverpool?
Pedro’s stock has arguably fallen a little after such an impressive start to the season with Brighton, with both he and the Seagulls’ form tailing off.
That said, he still scored a brace against Leicester City earlier this month, taking his goal tally to 10 in the Premier League in 2024/25, plus six assists, and Alan Shearer praised him earlier in the campaign, saying:
“This for me is a brilliant centre-forward goal. The way he follows it up and he is expecting the rebound to get there. He reacts before anyone else does and then he gets his reward. His hold-up play was superb at times when he had to keep hold of the ball and bring his team-mates into play.”
Pedro remains a strong option for Liverpool with the summer transfer window looming, possessing some Roberto Firmino-esque qualities, in terms of dropping deep, but also capable of producing lethal finishes.
The 23-year-old is still young and would improve further by playing alongside better footballers, so he should be considered a leading target to add to Arne Slot’s attack.
