Liverpool consider RARE transfer on back of PSR concerns

Liverpool are thinking about a rare transfer for them. It comes as the PSR deadline quickly approaches.

Liverpool want to sign a new striker in 2025 to replace their current options. Neither Darwin Nunez nor Diogo Jota have proven themselves reliable under Arne Slot and the Reds want to move on.

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It's for different reasons, of course. Nunez has been unreliable in front of goal, with Liverpool desperately searching for a proper finisher to ease the burden on Mo Salah.

Jota does offer that kind of finishing - he's just rarely available. The Portugal star has played around one-third of Liverpool's minutes this season and that's simply not good enough.

Not for someone to properly rely on, anyway.

That has Liverpool looking at players like Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike. Both look absolutely perfect for Slot's system but there's that same old drawback: price.

Newcastle United would want around £130m in order to sell their star asset. Eintracht Frankfurt, knowing full well that Ekitike is seen as Isak's alternative, now want around £80m to sell.

Given Liverpool have several other positions they wish to reinforce, saving a bit of money is of high priority. It's far easier to sign a few elite players all at once if a couple are 'cheaper', after all.

And so with that in mind, they may have a chance to strike a rare deal.

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Liverpool in for Ollie Watkins

Football Insider claims Liverpool are in the race for Ollie Watkins, who could leave Aston Villa this summer. Arsenal attempted to pick him up back in January but were reportedly quoted £60m, a fee they weren't willing to pay.

That's supposedly still the asking price, too. Villa are open to selling one of their star players here as they want to bring in Marcus Rashford - they hold a £40m option to sign him from Manchester United.

But PSR concerns make it difficult to just sign Rashford without any exits. They're not willing to sell Morgan Rogers, either, which leaves the door open fairly wide for Watkins.

And that would be a rare transfer for Liverpool. The forward is now 29 - an age bracket the Reds never buy in.

There was an exception to that recently: Thiago. Whether Watkins warrants a similar exception is up for debate but he'd certainly be a fit for Slot's squad.

He's not, however, a long-term option and that's the trade-off here. Someone like Ekitike (22) very much would be and that's why we'd find it hard to believe that Liverpool would pay £60m for Watkins.

An extra £20m might get you Ekitike and you don't have to be on the lookout for an immediate successor. It makes the Watkins deal look like poor value, in truth - unless a move for Ekitike is off the table.

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So perhaps this is just one to keep an eye on. If Liverpool miss out on other targets, Watkins may well be one they fall back on.