When Liverpool signed Dutch giant Ajax Luis Suarez in January 2011, there was a general acceptance that a deal was possible as Liverpool was not one of the previous stages of its European clubs, which were reflected in his actions.
Suarez, currently 38 years old and playing Intermiami and Major League football, will retire as one of the most decorated and best strikers of his generation. He is remembered by many for his incredible score record, seductive movements and his ability to fuse with his attacking teammates.
However, he will be remembered for his unstable and aggressive nature. Suarez plays with his sleeves in his mind, but not in a sporty way. He is both bark and biting.
Still, he was a Liverpool superstar and many others. Trumping him required some things on No. 9 and for all their success under Jurgen Klopp and now Arne Slot, that’s something the Reds have yet to achieve.
Well, until this summer. Currently, Liverpool may have two new centre forwards, rather than one that can emulate Uruguiron’s Premier League legacy.
Liverpool’s new striker
Meet the new Liverpool striker. Hugo Ekitike is already used to the Anfield crowd, scoring three goals and providing assists in the club’s first three matches.
Liverpool won the race that was indicted for his signature, beating many of his competitors, especially Newcastle United, signing a £10 million add-on in addition to a £609 million contract with the French forward.
And he is repaying his faith. Ekitike watches Premier League home and leads the line. Only 23, perhaps the most exciting part is that Ekitike has so many possibilities, and there is little question that FSG even had a hit in the jackpot, even given his lofty price tag.
Aleander Isak needs little introduction. Liverpool signed the Newcastle star striker on a £125 million contract with a transfer deadline, finishing a month of controversy as persuasive.
Sweden International scored 27 goals in all competitions in 2024/25, winning the Carabao Cup and scored as Eddiehau’s side beat riderpool at Wembley.
Erling Haaland is the only player in the Premier League to score more clinical percentages since Isak left Spain’s Real Sociedad and joined Newcastle at £63 million. Even Mohamed Sarah offers the same frequency with all his glows.
PL Top Scorer (22/23-25/26) | ||
|---|---|---|
player | App | Target (rate) |
Erling Haaland | 101 | 90 (0.89) |
Mohamed is wrong | 112 | 68 (0.61) |
Alexander Isaac | 86 | 54 (0.63) |
Ollie Watkins | 112 | 50 (0.45) |
Chris Wood | 96 | 39 (0.41) |
Brian Mbemo | 105 | 39 (0.37) |
Data via the transfer market | ||
Without a doubt, Isaac wants to leave a legacy comparable to Suarez’s legacy, and Ekitique will do so too. But the new version of Liverpool’s South American star is actually another member of the slot team.
New version of Suarez in Liverpool
Suarez was a Maverick, a game changer. It’s rare that the Premier League saw such endless quality in one man, and he dragged Brendan Rogers’ Liverpool to the top flight title in 2013/14, scoring 31 goals, campaigning for his age, and supporting 13 more.
However, when he joined Ajax a few years ago, he didn’t hit the ground at all. Suarez scored from the bench in his Premier League debut and won the net against Stoke City in a 2-0 victory.
The scorer then bags only one first eight starting appearances in the competition. The situation is different, but this strange fact can be applied to contextualize Florian Wirtz’s slow start.
Wirtz, 22, joined Bayer Leverkusen’s Liverpool and won a record £116 million commission, which was quickly replaced by Isak. The attacking midfielder is one of the most talented footballers in the world and has earned praise for his performance in his German homeland.
Ekitique’s fleet feet and sharp assists at Community Shield have issued a stern warning to the rest of British football, but the 195,000-pound talent, four games in the league campaign, has yet to beat the duck.
Journalist Declan Kerr admitted that Marquee has been struggling with the arrival of “make a hard time since joining Liverpool,” but there is little reason for concern. As journalist Sam McGuire pointed out, he is a “statistical unicorn” and a “last third freak.”
As devastating in the Bundesliga and fascinated by his entire exploit in the Champions League, Wirtz has proven himself at every stage, and despite his relative struggles as ever, sofa core data reveals that he averages two key passes per game for Liverpool, earning 50% of his ground and 60% of his dribbling.
Likewise, Suarez will always be a Merseyside star. Perhaps he surpassed his reputation and potential and became one of the best things to do, but it still took a little time to find his feet.
Suarez may not have gotten the fastest start in Premier League history, but he played and fought as the guy owned, when he went, and won.
And Wiltz carries himself in the air of football elite. You can see it as he takes a clever touch, scans and moves into space, rolls. His play has tenacity and an undercurrent waiting for it to erupt.
Was that a disappointing start? perhaps. Wirtz wasn’t bad at any stretch, but anyone who expected him to set up an English game from Get-go would be forgiven, as he would cost him quite a bit.
However, Wirtz is younger and adapted to the new league. Liverpool has emerged from the summer transfer window, adapted to a new system and characterized by turbulence and change.
If it’s not when, and Wirtz continues whether he was, he soon finds himself playing all the rush of Suarez in his Liverpool Prime, and praise continues.