Liverpool wage war with Manchester United for TWO strikers

Liverpool know that starting the season without a new striker next season would be unaccaptable and as such, the recruitment team is assessing all of the different options on the market.

The target the fans want most is Alexander Isak at Newcastle. He's proven himself in the Premier League and he is just entering the prime of his career at 25 years old, although his £100m asking price is a concern, as is his injury record over the past few years.

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As such, the Reds are against putting all of their hopes into one target, a shortlist is carefully being built before a decision is reached about who the desired player is.

On that list includes Hugo Ekitike at Eintracht Frankfurt, Joao Pedro at Brighton, Liam Delap at Ipswich, Victor Osimhen at Galatasaray and Viktor Gyokeres at Sporting, alongside Isak.

Each of them have different skill-sets and are different attacking profiles at different stages of their careers, so the spectrum to choose from is broad to say the least.

But a recent report has claimed that Manchester United have entered the race for one of these profiles, in addition to their already known interest in Delap, which will make the negotiations that bit harder.

Manchester United are Osimhen's 'main suitors'

According to Caught Offside, Chelsea have formally withdrawn their interest in signing Osimhen in favour of other summer transfer targets, which leaves Manchester United as the primarily interested party.

The report notes that Juventus are still hotly interested, but with the Red Devils looking to rebuild their attack, the player is seen as a potential asset to lead the line for them next season.

Given Liverpool have a number of players of their radar, this news isn't intrinsically bad. Osimhen would be a great addition to the Reds, but there are other strikers on the horizon to consider.

However, Delap is also a player that is favoured at United, and given his significantly lower price tag compared to Isak, Liverpool will be a lot more concerned about what this development means for the Englishman.

It is entirely plausible that Liverpool sell both Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez this season, who will both need to be replaced.

The strategy for such an eventuality would likely be to sign a ready-made target-man who has shown he can be relied upon straight away, as well as a more developmental player, such as Delap or Ekitike for a lower fee.

As such, the impact of a direct rival becoming increasingly interested in two of the club's main targets is a concern and Liverpool will need to plan and act accordingly if they are to get deals done.

Of course, it is clear that the Merseyside club are the better prospect to join, as Arne Slot is set to win the Premier League in his maiden season, while Manchester United are sitting 13th under Ruben Amorim.

And beyond the domestic success, Liverpool have all but confirmed a spot in the Champions League next season, whereas United are likely to miss out on Europe all together.

EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool ENTER Hugo Ekitike talks

The distance between the two clubs has rarely been bigger, but now that we start to get closer to the opening of the summer transfer window, it is clear that Liverpool's recruitment team will need to keep their wits about them if they are to pull off the business that they want.

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