Richard Hughes in talks to strike GENIUS transfer

Liverpool and Richard Hughes are reportedly lining up a truly brilliant transfer. Can they make it happen?

Liverpool will be in the market for a no.9 this summer. There is absolutely no doubt about that.

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Neither Darwin Nunez nor Diogo Jota have proven to be reliable enough under Arne Slot, albeit for entirely different reasons. Nunez, for starters, plays consistently but he's just not able to finish at the rate Liverpool need.

There are also concerns that his form has really dropped off since January. Slot even dropped him entirely for a lack of effort - something that previously seemed unfathomable.

Then there's Jota, who certainly doesn't lack effort and his finishing remains top-notch. His problem is more blatant - he's never fit.

Jota has played around one-third of Liverpool's Premier League minutes this season. It's simply not enough if he's going to lead the line.

And so Liverpool are looking at new strikers, with plenty of links to Alexander Isak. Anfield Watch also understands that the Reds are also looking at Hugo Ekitike.

But is that enough? Should Liverpool move to sign two strikers?

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Liverpool in talks for Jonathan David

Empire of the Kop reports that Liverpool are 'serious contenders' for Jonathan David and have initiated talks for the player. Importantly, the Canadian is out of contract in the summer.

Wages remain a concern, of course, but this would allow Liverpool to move for a striker without eating into their transfer budget. David is one of the world's most productive forwards, too, scoring 14 times in Ligue 1 this season and assisting another three.

That builds on the 19 and four he got last season and the 24 and hour the year before that. Getting a player like that on a free transfer is a magnificent deal.

Especially as David only turned 25 this season. He's a player Liverpool have looked at for a long time, too, as the striker was on their shortlist back when Jota arrived at Anfield.

We think this is a really interesting one, then. Liverpool could conceivably move Nunez on and replace him in the wage budget with David without spending any of the transfer fee.

Deals like that could make or break the summer, in fact, as Richard Hughes has to find players in five or six positions. This could help him do just that.

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This is one to watch, then. David will move somewhere this summer as he's not renewing his contract at Lille. His destination could well be Liverpool.