Liverpool have reportedly shown an interest in signing OGC Nice striker Amine Gouiri, with manager Jurgen Klopp keen on signing the 21-year-old.
According to a report from Spanish publication Fichajes, Liverpool are considering a summer swoop for OGC Nice’s French forward Amine Gouiri at the request of manager Jurgen Klopp.
Gouiri is a product of the Olympique Lyon youth academy and went on to make 15 appearances for Les Gones‘ first-team without scoring a goal. The 21-year-old made the switch to Nice in the summer of 2020 and has since grown into an exciting young talent in Ligue 1, having managed a more than handy tally of 20 goals and nine assists in 45 games so far.
Gouiri has started the new season with a bang, having scored four goals in four games already while also registering an assist. The French Under-21 international’s seem to have put him on the radars of one of the biggest clubs in the world in the form of Liverpool.
The Reds have a well-established attacking trio of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, with Diogo Jota and Divock Origi providing cover. However, Firmino’s poor goalscoring form over the past couple of seasons has become a cause for concern while Origi too is not favoured by manager Jurgen Klopp and came close to leaving this past summer.
As a result, Liverpool are now said to be considering adding another striker to their roster in the new year as a long-term replacement for the misfiring Firmino, with Gouiri emerging as a viable target. The report claims that the 21-year-old is a player of a similar profile to Firmino, in the sense that he excels playing as a No. 9 and can make valuable contributions with and without the ball.
It is further stated that manager Jurgen Klopp is one of the main driving forces behind Liverpool’s interest in Gouiri, with the German tactician said to be keen on working with the young Frenchman.
Gouiri, having signed for Nice last summer, still has three years left on his current contract with the Ligue 1 club. But, should a club of Liverpool’s stature come calling, it is unlikely that he will be able to turn them down. It remains to be seen if the Reds do make a move to sign the 21-year-old striker come summer next year or look at alternate options, with RB Leipzig’s Karim Adeyemi also on their radars.