Liverpool given new transfer verdict after Hugo Ekitike hammer blow and Alexander Isak woe
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The France international suffered a ruptured Achilles during the Reds' Champions League quarter-final second leg defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.Ekitike now faces a prolonged spell on the sidelines, and has already been ruled out of this summer's World Cup by France head coach Didier Deschamps.Liverpool signed Ekitike from Rennes last summer in a deal worth up to £79million, with the 23-year-old netting 17 goals during his debut season at Anfield.The injury to Ekitike leaves Alexander Isak as the club's sole recognised centre forward, with the Sweden international only recently returning from a four-month lay-off after suffering a fractured fibula and ankle injury.READ MORE: Liverpool 'putting transfer feelers out' in bad news for Man Utd as two signings decidedREAD MORE: Liverpool 'move ahead of Man Utd' in transfer race for Premier League starConsequently, former Newcastle and Blackburn striker Alan Shearer has urged Liverpool to move for a new centre forward in the aftermath of Ekitike's injury, reports the Liverpool Echo."Ekitike will be a huge miss for Liverpool with his serious injury," Shearer told Betfair. "Him and Szoboszlai have probably been the best two players for Liverpool this season."He added: "I think they’re [Liverpool] going to have to go into the transfer market now looking for a striker off the back of this injury because, as well as that, the likes of Andy Robertson and Salah are leaving as well."Ekitike is going to be out for six to nine months, so my guess is they'll have to go into the market.
Isak hasn't played for a full season either, so the answer is they're going to have to.FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FB PAGE! Latest Reds news and more on our dedicated Facebook page"Who they go for I don't know, and how much they can spend we don't know, but Liverpool will have to go again, because this season's not been good enough for their own very high standards."Injuries have not been the reason for Liverpool’s poor season; every team has injuries.
I would say it's more than the injuries as I think It's been many things."Clearly, their two big hitters in Van Dijk and Salah haven't been anywhere near the standard that we've seen in the past."Their new signings, other than probably Ekitike, haven't worked as yet and you can say that with all of them. I mean, all of them played the other night."We haven't seen the best of any of them, perhaps other than Ekitike, which, when you consider the money that's been spent has partly been down to their demise this season.