Transfer Update – The Search For Goal Scorers

The top Premier League clubs are once again scouring the globe for players who can find the net and enhance their club’s title chances. One of the more coveted goal scorers in this summer’s window came off the board this week and the winner is…last season’s Premier League champion and top goalscoring team, Liverpool.

Frenchman Hugo Ekitike, a twenty-three-year-old forward who scored 22 goals, adding 12 assists, across 48 matches for Eintracht Frankfurt last season, bolsters a front line for Liverpool which was rocked by the tragic death of Diogo Jota earlier this summer and could still see the departures of forwards Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz before the window closes. Ekitike boasts size and pace similar to Newcastle’s Alexander Isak, who was the Premier League’s second leading scorer and was also a rumored target to become the Reds’ latest center forward. The champions have been active this summer with a total outlay for acquired players, including incentive add-ons, exceeding $250M. Ekitike joins former Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz as the featured offensive threats in this summer’s haul for the Reds. Liverpool beat German power Bayern Munich to Wirtz’s signature after a meeting with Arne Slot convinced the young midfielder of a prominent role in the Reds’ attack next season. Liverpool was also in a battle with other clubs for Ekitike’s signature.

An interesting dynamic arose with fellow Premier League side Newcastle which was chasing the French forward even as Liverpool was making overtures regarding Isak. In the end, Newcastle was unable to meet the financial demands of Eintracht Frankfurt and Ekitike. The Magpies, trying to strengthen a roster which will compete in the Champions League this season, also fell short in races with Chelsea for Joao Pedro and Liam Delap. To make matters worse, Isak was reportedly hot for a Liverpool move and is now a bit sulky as the Magpies, who have also said goodbye to striker Callum Wilson, begin preparations for the upcoming season.

Another, perhaps even more coveted goal scorer appears on the verge of signing after a dramatic battle between Premier League suitors. Viktor Gyokeres, a Swedish international who scored 97 goals in 102 appearances for Sporting CP, appears poised to undergo his medical tbs week for a move to Premier League runner up Arsenal. The runner up in the Gyokeres sweepstakes is Manchester United, which was still bidding on the striker mere days ago. Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta will breathe easier once Gyokeres is on board and fills a blatant hole at the point of the Gunner attack which may well have accounted for failed title chases in each of the past two seasons.

Manchester United was also a late entrant to the Ekitike chase, reportedly mounting a competing bid to the winning Liverpool proposal after Newcastle bowed out of the pricey pursuit. Despite missing on both Gyokeres and Ekitike, the Red Devils have completed other moves to rework their dismal attack. The Red Devils signed two of the top eight Premier League goal scorers last season in Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo and Wolverhampton’s Matheus Cunha. Mbeumo enjoyed a breakout season with 20 league goals last season for the Bees. Cunha found the net 15 times for Wolves, leading his club in chances and shots created. The two players inject exciting possibilities into the stagnant front line of a club which Manager Ruben Amorim freely admits was the worst in Manchester United history. Departing from that dreary group of last season will be Marcus Rashford who is close to a loan deal with Barcelona and Alejandro Garnacho whose destination is unknown but for the fact there is no place for him in Amorim’s line-up. Failed striker Rasmus Hojlund may also be on the move if a suitor can be found for a striker who scored but four goals last season. Jadon Sancho, meanwhile, has been connected with a move to Juventus after a failed loan stint with Chelsea last season. Manchester United can use the money from offloading these players to further improve an attack so feeble last season that only Everton and the three relegated sides scored fewer goals. RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko could be part of those plans. He was among the top names expected to move this transfer window but, somewhat surprisingly, rumors had quieted until the past few days when Manchester United interest was reported. Sesko bagged 21 goals across all competitions for the German squad last season.

Another striker rumored to be a possibility for the Red Devils is Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson who has bedeviled the Blues with inconsistency and lack of discipline. The Club World Cup winners could now find the Senegal international expendable after adding Liam Delap and Joao Pedro this offseason as key men to play alongside franchise player Cole Palmer to keep the goals flowing for the Blues. A change of address could be just the thing for Jackson who could still have untapped potential at the age of 24 after scoring 30 goals since his arrival in England from Villareal in 2023.