Liverpool appear dangerously thin in attack as the summer transfer window nears its end, with Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, and new signing Hugo Ekitike the top three options for manager Arne Slot and only Federico Chiesa as senior forward depth across the entire front line.

Last season, Slot had Salah and Gakpo as well as Luis Diaz, Darwin Nuñez, and Diogo Jota as options before getting to the seemingly unfavoured Chiesa. Even if the Italian is part of Slot’s plans for the 2025-26 season, that seems a clear downgrade in the club’s attack depth department.

For a side looking to defend a Premier League title and play 60+ games—a side that even with the options on hand last season looked exhausted towards the end of it—to close out the transfer window without at least one more attacking signing would be a clear and total failure.

Despite that, and despite the club’s struggles to convince Newcastle to part ways with superstar striker Alexander Isak, club-connected journalist Paul Joyce has today in The Times ruled out a pair of presumed Plan B options in Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola and Lyon’s Malick Fofana.

It’s a ruling out that will raise eyebrows, with a growing feeling Liverpool are on the verge of turning a window that saw them sign Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez and Ekitike into disappointment and a weaker overall squad than the Reds ended last season with.

It would be one thing to stick to their guns and say nothing less than Plan A will do if, at the very least, the squad wasn’t weaker than last season. It would be far more difficult to accept the club not having replacements lined up or a viable Plan B following this summer’s many departures.