Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson has called on Arne Slot to sign a dependable striker during the summer transfer window after the Reds’ status as champions was confirmed.
The destination of the title was known long before Liverpool’s 5-1 victory over Spurs on Sunday, and the Reds now lead the table by a huge 15 points with four games in the season remaining.
The team’s title success was achieved despite Liverpool‘s two main strikers, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez, scoring just 11 league goals between them, and Lawrenson believes that will have to change next season.
“Nunez stretches defenses but he just doesn’t score, which for a striker is not good,” Lawrenson told talkSPORT. “Jota, really good finisher but injury prone. They definitely need an out-and-out striker who is quick, but then doesn’t everybody?
“The great thing for Liverpool though, when you come to try and make a deal with people… obviously the money is fine because everybody is on massive money at the moment, but Liverpool will be selling Anfield won’t they. As in, ‘come and play here, come and play with all these players who are unbelievable.’ So I think they might end up buying about five players, which sounds a bit crazy when they’ve just won the league but that’s what it will need.”
He added: “Everyone is saying about them buying players — yeah they’ll have to buy players, but you know one of the key things, and he doesn’t really get a mention: Joe Gomez. He can play center-back, right-back and even left-back. So everyone is saying they’re going to buy all these players in defense, it may not be that way. The most difficult thing he’s got to face is that he has to change it a little bit, because one or two of the boys are struggling to play so many games. It will be interesting to see what he does.”
(Image: Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images)
Lawrenson also praised Arne Slot for the impact he has had since replacing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield just under a year ago. Slot became only the fifth manager to win the Premier League during his first season in charge, and the first since Antonio Conte in 2016-17.
“With the manager, you expect him to be tinkering and buying players, but very cleverly Slot’s not done any of that,” Lawrenson said. “He’s probably made them a little bit more possession-focused than Jurgen did. Two defeats, they’ve just been outstanding. He’s obviously an intelligent man. He must have gone into the office on the first day, and thought ‘you know what, there are one or two things I can do with them and on you go’ and that’s been the clever thing for me with him.”
