Liverpool seem to have made signing up a striker as the priority in the summer. The club have been linked with a number of forwards in the last few weeks including Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette. Now according to Calcio Mercato, Athletic Bilbao striker Inaki Williams is one of the key targets for the club, with Italian giants Juventus also in the battle for his signature.
Liverpool scouts were in attendance for the game between Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla a few days ago, and despite Bilbao losing the game 1-0, Liverpool scouts were more interested in seeing Williams perform for the Basque club. The player has a €50 million release clause.
Though it is highly unlikely that Athletic Bilbao will seek such an extravagant transfer fee for the player, the 22-year-old will certainly cost a reasonable amount of money. The forward, though, has scored only two goals in 25 appearances for Athletic Bilbao. This poor goal return is largely down to the player being used as an attacking right midfielder other than an out and out centre forward. He played the full 90 minutes in the defeat against Sevilla, but it turned out to be one of his poorest performances in recent weeks.
Liverpool appeared to recognise that the squad is in need of a major revamp in several positions. Speculation surrounding the future of players like Daniel Sturridge is likely to make Liverpool become active in terms of strengthening the forward positions. The club has been utilising midfielder James Milner in at left back position, as manager Jurgen Klopp does not trust Alberto Moreno anymore. This area is also a cause of concern for the club. Even though Liverpool managed to return to form with a 3-1 win over Arsenal at Anfield on Saturday, it is a result that merely keeps the club in the top four race.
Jurgen Klopp would have been ideally looking at a Premier League title race along with a few cup competitions thrown in. However, Liverpool are already looking likely to finish without any trophies even with several weeks of the season still left. Horrendous form since the turn of the year has seen the club secure just two league wins. The team was severely criticised in the 3-1 loss against Leicester City a few days ago. Yet, they overturned this result with a spectacular performance against Arsenal.
Strangely, this has been the story of the season for Liverpool. The club has had no troubles when it comes to performing against the top six opponents, but have struggled against the bottom 14.