SURPRISE new name added to Liverpool's striker shortlist

Liverpool's last attempt to bring a striker to the club ended up with a cheque for £85m being signed for an underperforming player and the club has vowed to not make the same mistake again.

That striker in question was Darwin Nunez, who is now likely to leave three years on from his arrival, as it has become crystal clear that he is unlikely to succeed in his current environment.

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During the time he spent with us, he will have won a Carabao Cup and a Premier League, although his role in those achievements has been significantly more limited than we all expected from him.

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The 25-year-old has 40 goals in 138 appearances. For a club as big as Liverpool, that just isn't enough.

As such, the Reds are on the hunt for a new striker, although the due-diligence being done is remarkably comprehensive. No stone will be left unturned before a decision is eventually reached.

Striker search widens to include Ollie Watkins

Liverpool have looked at most players available on the market by this point.

Alexander Isak is the ideal candidate, although Newcastle want £100m; Joao Pedro at Brighton has been considered, although they want a similar figure; and now Hugo Ekitike's price tag has sky-rocketed after some statement performances for Eintracht Frankfurt.

Beyond those three, Victor Osimhen, Viktor Gyokeres, Benjamin Sesko and Liam Delap have all been enquired into, but no one has really managed to come out on top. The club is still searching for something.

And now we get to this report from Football Insider, linking Liverpool to a potential move for Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins - a rumour that has quite literally come out of nowhere.

Arsenal had been lurking around Watkins earlier this season during the winter transfer window, but decided against making a rash decision in favouring of waiting until the summer.

However, since then, Watkins has been somewhat pushed out at Villa because Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford has taken his opportunity with both hands, occasionally leading the line for Emery's side.

As such, it seems plausible that he could be pushed out, although whether Liverpool go in for him is another story. The current intel is that the Reds are 'closely monitoring' him, which seems harmless.

Watkins has proved himself to be a consistent goalscorer over the years, scoring 15 goals in five of his last six seasons for Aston Villa and Brentford, although his experience in Europe is limited.

Furthermore, he is 29 years old and Arsenal's winter bid of £60m was rejected, a figure which is probably around the maximum that Liverpool would probably consider paying for him.

The traditional approach that FSG take when it comes to football transfers involves buying the next big thing rather than anyone in the prime of their career, and in terms of both age and cost, Watkins doesn't fit.

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Nonetheless, this latest rumour is yet further proof that Liverpool are being more wary this time around and so while we might have to wait for more concrete news, the club are doing their due-diligence, which can only be considered a good thing after the mistakes of the past.

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