Liverpool showing strong interest in ‘confident’ Suarez-esque marksman; bargain fee could land him

Liverpool are reportedly interested in a prolific striker who’s been deemed stylistically similar to Luis Suarez.

Despite the Reds boasting an abundance of riches in attack, it appears that Richard Hughes is on the lookout for options to give Arne Slot’s team an even greater cutting edge, and that search has seemingly taken them to the top flight in the head coach’s homeland.

Liverpool showing strong interest in Ricardo Pepi

According to CaughtOffside, the Premier League leaders are ‘currently showing the strongest interest’ in a possible move for PSV Eindhoven marksman Ricardo Pepi, who’s also on the radar of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid.

The 21-year-old has scored seven goals in 16 matches across all competitions so far this season, with six of those coming in 11 Eredivisie games (Transfermarkt), and he could be available for as little as €25m (£20.8m).

Could Pepi be Liverpool’s next Suarez?

Pepi was described by his former USA national team coach Gregg Berhalter as a ‘confident’ striker (GOAL), an attribute which has helped him to score 11 goals in 31 caps for his country by such a young age.

As per FBref, the PSV forward is listed as a stylistically similar player to Liverpool icon Suarez (as well as Reds-linked Viktor Gyokeres), and he ranks very highly for a series of metrics when compared with positional peers outside of Europe’s five main leagues over the past year.

Within that category, he places among the top 1% for non-penalty goals, non-penalty xG and shots per 90 minutes, along with the top 2% for pass completion and the top 7% for assists per game.

Pepi looks like a striker who has the talent to go on to even better things, and the Reds might be intrigued about the possibility of signing a second attacker from the Eindhoven club in three years, having acquired Cody Gakpo at the tail end of 2022.

Liverpool also brought Suarez from the Eredivisie (Ajax) to Anfield a few years previously, so it’s a transfer route through which they’ve struck gold in the past. The American hotshot is one worth keeping an eye on as the season progresses.

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