Robbie Fowler has urged Liverpool to consider a move for former Arsenal target Ollie Watkins if they decide to part ways with Darwin Nunez in the summer.
It was hoped that Nunez would be the long-term replacement for Roberto Firmino when he signed from Benfica for £85million in June 2022.
The Uruguayan, though, has registered just five Premier League goals this season and has struggled to pin down a regular starting berth in Arne Slot’s side.
And the 25-year-old now appears destined to depart Anfield at the end of the season as Liverpool plot a summer rebuild to keep the chasing pack at bay.
Liverpool are one of several top European clubs plotting a move for Alexander Isak this summer, but the Reds may be put off by Newcastle’s hefty asking price for the Swede.
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And if that is the case, then Fowler thinks the club would be wise to consider a move for Aston Villa striker Watkins who was the subject of a £40m bid from Arsenal in the January window.
‘If you’re not signing players, you risk potentially going backwards,’ Fowler told The i Paper when asked about Liverpool’s potential summer business.
‘Maybe [Darwin] Nunez will be a name on a few teams’ lists because he hasn’t played the amount of games he’d want to, so you assume Liverpool will try to bring a No 9.
‘The problem is clubs know that they are potentially on the lookout for a No 9, so the prices will become silly. If you look at [Alexander] Isak, he’s going to be £100m plus easily.
‘He’s a wonderful player, but Liverpool may not want to pay that, and they’ll look around.
‘You could look at Ollie Watkins. He doesn’t really fit the model in terms of what Liverpool want, given his age [29 years old], but I’d go and get him for a couple of years because he’s a tremendous player and established and experienced in the Premier League.’
Watkins has notched up 15 goals and seven assists in the league this season, but cut a frustrated figure last month when he was dropped for both legs of Villa’s Champions League quarter-final with Paris Saint-Germain.
And former England midfielder Owen Hargreaves said the striker should not be scared to look elsewhere in the summer if he feels he isn’t getting enough game time in the peak years of his career.
‘Obviously Ollie has every right to be upset,’ Hargreaves told Premier League Productions last month.
;But the best thing you can do is play like he did against Newcastle, finish the job, score goals, get them to the top four.
‘If you’re not happy, play somewhere else, at 29.’
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