Liverpool have had one of their worst weeks of the season at the worst possible time, losing consecutive home games to Atalanta and Crystal Palace.
It now seems unlikely that Jürgen Klopp will be adding to the EFL Cup his side dramatically won in February. The Reds have struggled at both ends of the pitch, continuing their unfortunate trend of conceding first in both games.
Sadly, there are issues at the other end of the pitch to contend with. Despite having a slew of clear-cut chances against Palace, a goal was not forthcoming. Several of their attackers missed presentable opportunities, and questions are being asked about the likes of Darwin Núñez.
One man who could be the answer to these goalscoring woes is Viktor Gyökeres. The Sporting CP striker has been linked with a move to Merseyside, potentially following his current boss, Rúben Amorim.
On the latest episode of our Journo Insight show, we spoke to experienced LFC journalist Neil Jones for his thoughts on the Gyökeres rumours.
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“I think he only fits the bill if you give up on Darwin, personally, and probably Jayden Danns in the same area. I’m not sure there’s room in the side for two first-choice number nines.
“I know after the weekend maybe some people would change their mind, but I don’t think Liverpool have given up on Darwin Núñez just yet.
“I think he’s still capable of having really poor moments and being really frustrating, but I think overall he’s net a positive as a Liverpool player so I don’t think Liverpool will give up on him.
“That to me would rule out a signing such as Gyökeres. I think it’d be more like a Jota kind of player, or a Gakpo kind of player who plays off the side and down the middle.
“Gyökeres has just done a few of the things that Núñez has done, obviously a really good season in Portugal – 20+ goals, having had a really good season previously in the Championship.
“He’s got a little bit of that story that Liverpool quite like – he’s failed, and he’s had to go down and rebuild somewhere else.
“If it was Amorim, then obviously he’s known to the manager and he’s his guy. I could only see him, or any other number nine specialist coming if Liverpool were to make a big sale in Núñez.”
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Gyökeres – hailed previously as ‘unplayable’ – is certainly ‘flavour of the month’ in terms of European strikers, and the lure of signing someone so prolific in front of goal given Liverpool’s recent struggles is understandable. At this moment in time, LFC’s next manager is still unknown, so perhaps links to the 25-year-old Swede would diminish if Rúben Amorim is not appointed. The jump from Primeira Liga to a ‘top five’ league has been historically difficult for some strikers. Colombia’s Jackson Martínez was an absolute goal machine for Porto but then struggled to make the grade at Atlético Madrid before being shipped off to the Chinese Super League. His fellow countryman Radamel Falcao made the same move in 2011 and was a success in the Spanish capital, but completely failed to make an impact on the Premier League in loan spells with Manchester United and Chelsea. A lot depends on the identity of the next manager – will they want to continue with a classic number nine? If so, will that man be Darwin Núñez? Perhaps they will want to change formation and play with two central strikers? Until these questions are answered, the signing of Viktor Gyökeres seems like a long shot.
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