Liverpool may well qualify for the Champions League next season, but they will limp over the finish line, benefiting from the failures of their Premier League rivals. It would be unceremonious, and it would not absolve Arne Slot of his part in Anfield’s decline.
This is not transitional: this is a regression of core elements, Liverpool losing something fundamental in their make-up and identity.
To have suffered such a staggering collapse beggars belief, and if FSG are standing behind the head coach they appointed to replace Jurgen Klopp, they are doing so with tacit reservations over his ability to lead the next phase of this project.
It would be easy, now, to pick at one of the usual suspects, players like Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah and Ibrahima Konate and Florian Wirtz. They’ve all flattered to deceive this season.
But Hugo Ekitike has been a source of praise, yet there’s no question that he’s left something to be desired of late, and that was painfully clear during the draw against Tottenham Hotspur.
Why Hugo Ekitike is far from perfect
Over the first few months of the season, Ekitike stationed himself at number nine and enjoyed a rise to prominence as Alexander Isak, club-record buy from Newcastle United, struggled for fitness.
However, since Isak broke his leg while scoring against West Ham United in December, the French forward has ebbed and flowed. Since scoring in the win over Tottenham before Christmas, Ekitike has only scored in two of his past 11 Premier League matches, including a brace at home to Newcastle.
There’s a case that the 23-year-old is tired amid such a gruelling campaign as Liverpool’s focal frontman, but his decision-making and fluency in attack haven’t been perfect over the past several months, as was shown during his recent cameo against Spurs.
Too many times, Ekitike finds himself drifting on the outskirts, unable to connect with a larger creative body that admittedly doesn’t know its own shape. In the Champions League, he has only scored twice, missing nine big chances.
There’s no question that this is one of the most talented attackers in Europe, a player who could become world-class, among the best of the best.
|
Liverpool’s Frontline in 2025/26 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Apps |
Goals + Assists |
|
Hugo Ekitike |
40 |
16 + 6 |
|
Mohamed Salah |
33 |
9 + 8 |
|
Cody Gakpo |
40 |
8 + 4 |
|
Federico Chiesa |
30 |
3 + 3 |
|
Alexander Isak |
16 |
3 + 1 |
|
Florian Wirtz |
38 |
6 + 8 |
|
Rio Ngumoha |
19 |
1 + 0 |
But he’s not there yet, and with Gakpo flattering to deceive and Isak still out injured, Slot may find himself turning to an unorthodox solution.
Liverpool could unleash teen striker
Slot is having a bad year, but he was exceptional as Liverpool won the Premier League last season. Even so, handing minutes to youth has not been one of his stronger suits throughout his time on Merseyside.
Rio Ngumoha is undoubtedly Liverpool’s most exciting forward, and the 17-year-old only made his maiden Premier League start on Sunday.
However, Ngumoha isn’t the only academy prospect who has the capacity to influence the senior side, with Jayden Danns finally fit again after a five-month layoff.
Danns, 20, has had a torrid time over the past couple of years, persistently pegged back by fitness problems after bursting into life under Jurgen Klopp’s wing.
Danns has scarcely featured for the Reds development team this season, only scoring once across four appearances. He former part of the bench as Liverpool’s 1st team beat Atletico Madrid in the group stage of the Champions League.
Last season, he scored as Liverpool defeated Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup, but that was one of only three senior showings all season. Even so, Danns has three professional goals from only ten outings.
We saw during the 2023/24 campaign that this could be a potential superstar, Danns instrumental in steadying the Anfield ship during a period of absurd injury problems.
Analyst Ben Mattinson even described him as “a better finisher than Nunez” during the 2023/24 season, and few would have argued against the teenager offering a sharper, more precise edge to his game in the danger area.
And given that he ended up with a Carabao Cup title to his name, playing in the final, Danns is clearly talented enough to make an impact over the next few months.
Danns has been terribly unlucky throughout the maiden years of his Liverpool career, but that’s not to say that his quality hasn’t shone through.
This is a talented goalscorer with a big future in front of him, and as Isak continues to recuperate, Slot may find value in unleashing the academy man as an alternative option at number nine.
Slot must drop Liverpool star who’s becoming as pointless as Gakpo
Arne Slot must finally drop this Liverpool player who has been as ineffective as Cody Gakpo.