Alexander Isak opened the scoring in the win over Tottenham last weekend. That was his second Premier League goal of the season after a £125m deal (the highest in the competition's history).
Although it did not meet expectations, when this striker was injured, Liverpool fell into a crisis of the attack because the current squad under Arne Slot was large in number but lacked many quality positions.
Finding a solution in the winter market
Due to the unstable performance of wingers Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah, now that Isak has been added, Liverpool's attack is in an even thinner state in terms of quality. After spending £450 million in the summer of 2025, Liverpool have sold a number of players and earned £200 million. Thus, they can still buy more in the upcoming market.
Last season, Liverpool had 6 strikers: Salah, Gakpo, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa. They signed two strikers in the summer, Isak and Ekitike, but no replacement came Diaz, leaving the team with just five familiar options and 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha.
A disadvantage of the winter market is that it is difficult to find good players and the price is always expensive. Teams do not tend to sell their best players this time, so if Liverpool want a good addition, it is very difficult.
If Liverpool want to find a good player, it is not too reasonable because doing so will push Isak to the bench while spending £ 125 million to buy this striker from Newcastle. If you want to have a temporary patchwork person, this is not really necessary. There have been some rumors related to Antoine Semenyo, but so far there is no verification.
Bring Salah back to the starting lineup
Depending on the performance of the Egyptian team at AFCON, Liverpool may lose Salah until the end of January. During his time in charge of the national team, Salah and his agent will have more short negotiations about their future at Anfield.
Currently, Liverpool have no plans to push Salah away in January. Isak's long-term injuries reinforce this as the team cannot lose all their attacking options. Therefore, when Isak is out, bringing Salah back to the squad is necessary.
If Arne Slot continues to use the diamond midfielder formation, Salah can play as a striker. The performance against Brighton shows that Salah can still make a positive impact on the team in the 4-2-3-1 formation.
Take advantage of everything you have
If Liverpool do not buy anyone more in the winter, Arne Slot will be forced to use what he has. In the short term, perhaps the center forward position still belongs to Ekitike even though the French striker has never been a classic "number 9" model.
Next, in the context of Salah playing for AFCON and Gakpo not fully recovering, Slot had to consider Chiesa and Ngumoha. Both of these stars have not started any Premier League and Champions League matches since the beginning of the season.
Arne Slot's recent system adjustment includes more midfielders and fewer strikers to help the team stabilize. In the last 2 matches in the Premier League, the Dutch coach used 5 central midfielders with Florian Wirtz - Dominik Szoboszlai on the wings and a striker, Ekitike.
Slot could continue to use that squad and personnel, even though he will not have Szoboszlai in the match against Wolves due to suspension. This puts great pressure on Ekitike, requiring him to play as much as possible but will come with many risks.
Last season, Slot had a time using Diaz as a center forward and if Gakpo returned early, he could also experiment with this option. If so, an opportunity will be opened for Chiesa on the left wing. The Italian star has only started in the League Cup and is very eager to show himself.
When given the opportunity, Chiesa made his mark. He scored the third goal in Liverpool's late 4-2 win over Bournemouth on the opening day of the season. Then there was the equalizer in the 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace. Next was an assist for Gakpo's goal in the 2-1 loss to Man United.
