With Daniel Sturridge’s injury woes continuing, buying a striker in the summer in a priority, if not a necessity. Our struggles this season have largely come down to the England international’s prolonged absence, as well as the fact that we lost Luis Suarez last summer, and that we failed to adequately replace either.
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A dubious report in the Daily Express claims that Brendan Rodgers will spend around £60m to put together a brand new strike-force, including Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke and Burnley’s Danny Ings.
Whilst both are young – and thus open to development – and in the case of Ings, wouldn’t cost much, both have experienced long periods of goalscoring droughts this season, and therefore would arguably not represent good value for money.
With that in mind, here are eight other strikers that we need to consider making an approach for in the summer:
Memphis Depay (PSV Eindhoven)
In the same report from the Express, Memphis Depay is included in that trio we are chasing, but is arguably head and shoulders above the other two. The Dutchman has scored on 21 occasions this season, even though he is more highly considered as a winger. His ability to play in a variety of positions surely makes him the kind of player that is attractive to Rodgers, as the manager continues to tinker with his best formation. We’d absolutely love to see him arrive in the summer.
Edin Dzeko (Manchester City)
Considering that he has spent much of his career on the bench at the Etihad, Edin Dzeko arguably has a pretty impressive goalscoring record. The 29-year-old strikes at better a goal every three games. He brings plenty of experience with him, and would need no time to adapt to the Premier League.
Luiz Adriano (Shakhtar Donetsk)
The 28-year-old is available on a free in the summer, so it would be a no-brainer to at least consider making an approach when his contract expires in Ukraine. He boasts a handy record in the domestic league – with eight goals in 17 games – however, it is in the Champions League where he is really making a name for himself this season. Currently, he remains the competition’s top goalscorer with nine goals, one more than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Five of those strikes came in one half against BATE Borisov.
Bas Dost (Wolfsburg)
Dost spent the early part of this season as Wolfsburg’s back-up option. However, when he was given his opportunity, he proved that he should have been selected for the first-team all along. Upon the return from the winter break, he bagged a brace in the surprise thumping of Bayern Munich. The 25-year-old now has 13 goals in 17 games, and has helped his side to become Bayern’s nearest challengers in the Bundesliga.
Carlos Bacca (Sevilla)
The 28-year-old Colombian is the highest scoring player in La Liga behind someone from the big sides three sides of Barcelona, Real Madrid and current champions Atletico Madrid. The Sevilla man has 17 goals, and has helped his side to the semi-finals of the Europa League – a competition they won last year – and to currently sit in a Champions League qualification spot. One stumbling block however, may be that Bacca signed a new contract last summer and still has three years of that left to run.
Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli)
With Juventus dominating Serie A yet again, you cannot help but feel that the former Real Madrid man is being wasted at Stadio San Paolo. At both his former and current club, Higuain has scored at better than a goal every two games, which seems to be the benchmark for a top striker. Given his record however, it would probably take a large offer for the club to even consider selling him.
Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan)
In an awfully poor season for Inter Milan, Mauro Icardi has been flying. The 22-year-old has 17 goals this season, including the winner against Roma at the weekend. If he continues to shine whilst Roberto Mancini’s men carry on faltering, then he may grow tired of fighting a losing battle. We may struggle to persuade some of the forwards already playing – or set to play – Champions League football, but we can offer a lot more than his current club can.
Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon)
The 23-year-old is arguably the most sought-after striker across Europe right now. The Frenchman has been in fantastic form all year, scoring 26 goals in just 30 games, and leading Ligue 1’s goalscoring charts by eight strikes. Lacazette should arguably top of our list for this season because, if he has another year like this one, only the wealthiest of sides will be able to afford him. He can use – and finish – with both feet, and has genuine pace which has caused defences all kinds of problems this year.