Liverpool have reportedly made contact with the agent of a prolific Serie A forward who’s enjoyed a memorable 2024.
Despite the Reds boasting attackers of the calibre of Mo Salah, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz, it appears that Richard Hughes is still on the lookout for further additions to that part of Arne Slot’s squad at Anfield.
To that effect, a former Evertonian could be in the sights of LFC’s sporting director.
According to Sacha Tavolieri for SkySport.ch, Liverpool have contacted the agent of Ademola Lookman, who’s expected to leave Atalanta over the next few months.
The Bergamo club have informed the 27-year-old of their willingness to negotiate with prospective suitors, given the forward’s apparent desire for a return to English football after two-and-a-half years in Italy.
The Serie A leaders have set a minimum asking price of €50m (£41.3m), albeit with an acknowledgement that now might be the right time to cash in so that they can reap the highest possible fee for him.
Lookman netted 17 goals in a historic 2023/24 season for Atalanta, including a hat-trick in their Europa League final thrashing of a previously undefeated Bayer Leverkusen; and he’s well on course to top that in the current campaign, having already struck 11 times in 19 matches for La Dea.
Liverpool had reportedly sent scouts to watch the Nigeria international during the autumn and were linked with him during the summer transfer window, so it appears that he’s been on the radar at Anfield for several months already.
Playing either as a second striker or centre-forward, the 27-year-old compares very impressively to positional peers across Europe’s five main leagues in 2024 for a series of underlying performance metrics, most notably his match averages for assists, shot-creating actions, progressive carries, successful take-ons and non-penalty goals (FBref).
It’s unclear whether Lookman’s two years at Everton would discourage him from joining the Reds, but his unhappy spell at Goodison Park (just four goals in 48 games) might make a move to Anfield seem less sacrilegious than if he’d been a smash hit for the Toffees.
Considering the spate of defensive injuries in Slot’s squad at the moment, that area of the pitch could be LFC’s priority in the January transfer window, but the Atalanta hotshot is definitely worthy of strong consideration if there’s a desire to further enhance an already formidable attacking force in L4.
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