Former Liverpool honcho addresses key deficit in Liverpool's frontline

Liverpool has been blessed with some elite strikers over the years. From Kenny Dalglish of the old days to Fernando Torres leading the lines a decade ago, the levels have always been there. With the arrival of Luis Suarez in 2011 and Roberto Firmino taking charge in 2015, Merseyside never felt their goal scorers lacking. However, many think that it has not been the same since the departure of the Brazilian in 2023.

Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota are promising (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Ian Graham takes note of Liverpool’s Striking options

The conversations about how the Liverpool attacking half has had a great switch in the last few years are still on. While Luis Diaz has taken the Sadio Mane role quite efficiently, there are still doubts about the levels of replaced strikers. The former director of research has taken time to address the situation. Speaking to Sky Sports Graham said :

“Look, it is a quality problem to have,” explains Graham, “but the problem of having Firmino in your team is that he played that false-nine role and was really suited to it. Finding another Firmino-type player was like a never-ending quest for us at Liverpool.”

Graham also had a conversation where he explained what he expects out of the striker:

“You need players who can win the ball back to start a possession,” he explains. “You need players who can make that possession safe and then progress it forward. You need players who can open up the defence and then someone to put the ball in the net”

Graham also reflected on current Liverpool strikers

Speaking further in the conversation, Graham addressed what he thinks about the current attacking options Arne Slot saying :

“Not bad for a player who was seen as anything but a sure thing when signed for £45m in 2020. “He was kind of underrated,” suggests Graham. Indeed, Jota was not even a guaranteed starter at previous club Wolves. There was uncertainty over his position.“

”He can play the Firmino role, even if he does not quite have the same passing game as Firmino,” says Graham. “That is no criticism of Jota. Very few players do.” Nevertheless, he has created more turnovers through his pressing than any other forward this season.”

Moving further, Graham called Darwin Nunez as a wildcard option reflecting his thoughts on him:

“Darwin really is a centre-forward.”

“Darwin was a centre-forward who did centre-forward things. So the question was, Firmino’s getting older and we are going to have to replace him eventually. Would the coach be comfortable with the slight change of style that Darwin is going to bring?”

“I can only see it from the outside now, so I don’t have any special insight into it, but the interesting thing is that with the amount of shots Darwin takes, you would expect him to be taking some from Mo, but he doesn’t seem to be taking that many shots from Mo.”

While the Uruguayan has the ability to make a difference upfront, the lack of cutting-edge leaves the Reds at a disadvantage. Nunez can make a case for himself by being more decisive in the final third and it is something that needs addressing in training. As long as he can keep up his confidence levels, he could very well become the leading man for the Reds going forward.

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There is no doubt there are still clouds on who Liverpool’s centre-forward will be. It has been there since the Brazilian’s departure to Saudi. While Nunez is himself linked to some clubs recently, Jota will look to transform. It’ll be hoped that the Merseyside forwards will take Graham’s word to notice.

There is no question that the levels up front need upgrades if they’re to compete with Manchester City and Arsenal for the title. Liverpool has also had their share of problems with scoring goals over the past two seasons. Currently, it is only the goals scored that separate them from Manchester City as they sit second on the table.