Insider claims Liverpool will seek to offload ‘disappointing’ £140k-p/w earner in the summer | OneFootball

A former Manchester United chief scout has claimed that Liverpool could seek to offload one ‘particularly disappointing’ player in the summer transfer window.

The Reds’ forward line could be in for a reshuffle after the end of this season, with Mo Salah’s contract situation remaining unresolved and Darwin Nunez linked with a potential exit, and they mightn’t be the only attackers possibly on their way out in the coming months.

Jota tipped for potential Liverpool exit in the summer

Mick Brown – who remains well-connected within football – was speaking to Football Insider about the possibility of a refresh to Arne Slot’s squad over the summer, and he claimed that Diogo Jota could be a subsequent fall guy.

The ex-Man United scout said: “Liverpool are looking at their team and assessing areas they can improve. hey’ve become a little bit predictable in recent weeks, which will be an issue.

“One of their strengths has been that they’ve got five or six forwards, and any three of those could start on any given day, but I don’t think Slot has been particularly happy with what those players are giving to him. Jota, I hear, has been particularly disappointing, and he’s one they will look to move on.

“If they can bring in a decent fee for him, it will allow them to go and spend it on a replacement. I think clubs will be interested in him so perhaps there’s a deal to be done.

“Slot wants to refresh his attacking options to give Liverpool something new, but at the moment the options they’ve got means there’s no space. His [Jota’s] sale and perhaps a couple of others would free that space, wages, and money to spend on improvements this summer.”

(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Jota enduring a rough patch, but should Liverpool really sell him this year?

Jota is enduring one of the toughest spells of his five years at Liverpool, having failed to score in his last 10 appearances since netting the equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest two months ago (Transfermarkt), and he’s admitted that he hasn’t been in his best form of late.

Along with most of his teammates, he had a day to forget in the Carabao Cup final, with Ian Doyle handing the 28-year-old a paltry 3/10 in his player ratings for the Liverpool Echo, and the £140,000-per-week forward’s statistics from recent matches don’t make for pleasant reading.

Since the 2-2 draw at Aston Villa last month, our number 20 has been on the pitch for 278 minutes and taken just four shots, equating to one every 69.5 minutes (FBref). For a player who’s built his reputation on being a clinical goalscorer at Anfield, that’s a worrying return.

Jota certainly hasn’t been himself since the turn of the year, and maybe the spate of injuries which have plagued him throughout his time on Merseyside are beginning to catch up with him a little.

However, Liverpool aren’t in a position to offload players without a guarantee that replacements will be brought in, and it’d be foolish to jettison the former Wolves attacker just because of an underwhelming couple of months to start 2025.

Let’s hope that, once he returns from the international break, we’ll see Diogo chipping in with a few vital goals which could see him claim his first Premier League winner’s medal, having joined shortly after our 2020 title triumph.