Liverpool's dream new attack as Alexander Isak signs and £52m winger bought

Liverpool's match-day squad will look very different when the Premier League champions return to action at Anfield on Friday 15 August. The last time they played competitively on their home ground, they were jubilantly lifting the club's 20th league title. Arne Slot has since overseen major changes with Luis Diaz, their second-highest goalscorer last season, off to Bayern Munich a week after Hugo Ekitike joined from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Elsewhere in attack, Darwin Nunez is still expected to leave while Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott are eager for more minutes. That could see the pair depart while Ben Doak may also move on for a handsome fee. Liverpool have already spent heavily on Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz. But the title-holders are not done and want Newcastle centre-forward Alexander Isak as their next high-profile arrival. They have already communicated a willingness to the Magpies to pay £130m for the Swede.

Isak has informed Newcastle he wants to make the move and a formal bid is now expected. The Carabao Cup winners could demand as much as £150m, which would obliterate the current British transfer record. If Isak does join Liverpool, then the Reds could still spend further on their forward line in order to give Slot a dream amount of quality and versatility.

Nunez, Chiesa and Elliott leaving and Isak arriving would leave the Sweden international, Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Ekitike as the four main forwards for Slot. With Salah headed to the African Cup of Nations halfway through the campaign, another attacker is surely needed in case of injuries.

Rio Ngumoha, the 16-year-old academy talent who turns 17 at the end of August, will be given more first-team minutes this season, but Liverpool will be wary of overloading the teenager. He should be a fifth-choice forward, not the fourth.

The ideal player to slot into the hierarchy just above Ngumoha might be Malick Fofana of Lyon. The Everton transfer target is a right-footed left winger just like the teenager. But crucially, both can play on the opposite side too to offer more of a byline threat.

Fofana, a Belgium international, is only 20 and is blessed with sublime technical ability, especially on the dribble, and explosive pace but also productivity. He managed 11 goals and six assists in 41 games last season. Getting one over on Everton would make it even sweeter for the Reds to snap him up, although it could cost them £52million.

Fofana would offer Liverpool an extra option when Salah is away at AFCON, with Fofana and Ngumoha both capable of sharing minutes on the right wing. Jeremie Frimpong and Dominik Szoboszlai could also do shifts in the position if required.

A major incentive of signing Fofana is that he would provide Liverpool with a left-winger who is more direct and adept at one-vs-ones than Gakpo or Ekitike. Diaz's departure means the Reds will be without a tricky wide-man who specialises in such situations. They will hope Wirtz can offer that same threat but the German is expected to be deployed in the No.10 role.

Having Fofana able to do so out wide would give opposition defences even more headaches to deal with. He would be the ultimate late-game option for the manager. Slot would be hopeful - with Isak, Salah, Gakpo, Ekitike, Fofana and Ngumoha - that he has ample tactical options as Liverpool bid for dual Premier League and Champions League supremacy.

Liverpool's dream new attack

Starters: Salah, Wirtz, Ekitike; Isak

Bench: Gakpo, Fofana, Ngumoha