Liverpool’s failure to secure the signings of either Nabil Fekir or Thomas Lemar has come as a surprise, with both players linked heavily with a move to Anfield over the past few months.
Lyon playmaker Fekir underwent his Reds medical on Friday, with personal terms already agreed with the player.
However, a recurring knee injury resulted in Liverpool pulling the plug on the deal.
The Ligue 1 club claim it was them who ended the transfer, however, reports suggest otherwise.
Liverpool wanted Lemar last summer and were close to agreeing a deal on deadline day until put off by Monaco’s asking price.
Atletico Madrid have now announced an agreement has been reached to sign the Monaco star for £53 million.
While both players would have been excellent additions to Liverpool’s squad, manager Jurgen Klopp still has plenty of alternatives he can target.
Read on as we look at four attacking players who could be heading to Anfield this summer.
Christian Pulisic – Borussia Dortmund
Klopp is a huge admirer of Pulisic, having signed him for Borussia Dortmund as a 16-year-old in February 2015.
The Reds’ boss failed in an attempt to bring the United States international to Liverpool in 2016, since which the teenager’s value has soared.
Pulisic can play on either wing but is most comfortable in the number 10 role. He wouldn’t be cheap, with £80m regularly touted as a fee.
Xherdan Shaqiri – Stoke City
Shaqiri is keen to join the Reds following Stoke City’s relegation to the Championship and he is believed to be available for around £12m due to a clause in his contract.
The 26-year-old would be an alternative to Klopp’s first choice attacking trio of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane, and it’s fair to say he would add more depth to the squad.
However, the Switzerland international winger is not the marquee signing fans have been craving for since Philippe Coutinho’s exit to Barcelona.
Marco Asensio – Real Madrid
The 22-year-old has been tipped as Real’s next big thing ever since since joining the club from RCD Mallorca in 2014.
He scored 11 goals in 53 games this season, although many of those were from the bench and he is understood to be looking for opportunities elsewhere.
With Real strongly linked with a move for Neymar this summer, Asensio’s chances of being a starter could be further reduced.
The Spanish club are believed to have already rejected two bids of up to £130m from Premier League clubs this summer and with a £613m release clause in his contract he certainly isn’t going to be sold cheaply.
Mario Gotze – Borussia Dortmund
Gotze nearly joined Liverpool in 2016 but instead returned to Dortmund from Bayern Munich, a move that saw him sidelined for most of the season with a rare muscle disorder.
The 26-year-old blossomed under Klopp while at Dortmund and he revealed last weekend that he would relish reuniting with his former boss.
Gotze has been left out of Germany’s squad for this summer’s World Cup in Russia and he still hasn’t fully recaptured the form he showed under Klopp.
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