Liverpool CANNOT spend £100m on this striker

Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota are facing uncertain Liverpool futures and club bosses want better options at No9.

Nunez, 25, has been unable to convince fully since his £85 million arrival from Benfica in 2022. This season he’s only scored five Premier League goals in 26 matches and was absent from the squad entirely for the weekend win over West Ham.

READ MORE: Kaoru Mitoma OPENS door to Liverpool transfer

Jota, 28, seems to have emerged as Arne Slot’s preferred No9 but question marks persist over his ability to stay fit. Moreover, his once reliable touch in front of goal appears to have deserted him this term.

If sporting director Richard Hughes can get the right sums in for the pair then it looks like they will be on their way. Nunez has got interest once again from Saudi Arabia while Arsenal and Wolves have been linked with a move for Jota.

READ MORE: Hugo Ekitike is BEGGING to be Liverpool's first €100m signing

It’s likely Liverpool will have to shift out some stars in order to make signings, with the Reds boasting one of the biggest wage bills in European football and the club having to earn some spending money through sales in recent windows.

That means Liverpool will have to be very picky when it comes to incoming strikers. Unlike other clubs, they can’t be throwing good money after bad and need to extract maximum value from any signing they make.

Liverpool need to steer clear of £100m Joao Pedro

Alexander Isak, for example, could go for over £150 million and there are numerous red flags coming with his signing. Hugo Ekitike is one player who looked like he could provide value but now Eintracht Frankfurt look set to bank around €100m to move him on.

Another idea seemingly considered in-house by Liverpool decision-makers has been Joao Pedro of Brighton. Those links first emerged ahead of the January transfer window and at the right price the 23-year-old would certainly be a good fit.

But you have to draw the line somewhere and with the Seagulls seeking £100 MILLION for their Brazilian forward, Liverpool need to steer clear.

The Fluminense graduate remains a player of high potential but currently doesn’t have the output to match the quoted transfer fee.

Joao Pedro's signing does not compute

Joao Pedro has appeared in 26 Premier League games this season - starting 22 - for a total of 1892 minutes played thus far. In that time he’s racked up 10 goals and six assists, which is a decent if unspectacular return.

But the former Watford man has got only FIVE non-penalty goals in the top flight this term. His non-penalty expected goals total (NPxG) per 90 minutes is a paltry 0.23.

And he’s got a non-penalty expected goals total in the Premier League this season of only 4.93. For comparison, Darwin’s is 4.88 from 1000 minutes and Jota’s is 6.80 in 1045 minutes played.

That’s according to FOTMOB, showing that statistically Joao Pedro’s signing doesn’t compute.

Brighton have become accustomed to commanding top dollar for their in-demand stars - like Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and Ben White - but there is nothing to suggest that Joao Pedro should go for anything like the quoted fee.

In fact, his estimated transfer value (ETV) according to the Football Transfers algorithm is €61.3m (£52.3m) - just over HALF of what Brighton are expecting to receive for him.

READ MORE: £100m midfielder confirms he is DESTINED to join Liverpool

Inflated fees have put FSG and Liverpool higher-ups off deals before and they would be well-advised to prioritise different targets this summer - ones that provide better value for money.