24-goal Zambian forward wanted by Liverpool

Liverpool want Patson Daka.

South Africa source Far Post has reported that the Reds are keen on bringing the Zambian forward to Anfield.

The 21-year-old is a former Young African Footballer of the Year and scored 24 goals last season and grabbed eight assists from 31 appearances.

2019/2020 was a real breakthrough campaign for the striker, who scored his first goal in the Champions League against Genk in a 4-1 win.

Erling Haaland was keeping Patson Daka on the fringes, but his sale to Borussia Dortmund really allowed the Zambian to flourish. He went from 15 appearances and three goals in the Austrian Bundesliga in 2018/2019 to 31 matches and 24 goals scored.

RB Salzburg have got a real history of developing attackers with an elite ceiling. Haaland is obviously the posterboy for that method, but Takumi Minamino could develop into a top talent while Naby Keita has already come through the Salzburg/Leipzig production line.

Hee-chan Hwang is another who have moved on to Leipzig, who forked out £13.50 million for the South Korean and there’s a clear path for the attacking players at Salzburg.

Daka impressed with his two goals during the preseason friendly against Liverpool, and the club have been urged to sign the youngster by Liverpool.com. The site described him as intelligent, hard-working, calm in front of goal and a real threat when he moves into space.

"Kristan Heneage wrote: “A constant threat that is eager to move into any space a defence may leave for him; his ability to combine with teammates and run selflessly for others is another facet of his well-rounded game.”"

Sounds a bit like Roberto Firmino.

Transfermarkt valued Daka at £18 million, and we’ve seen that Salzburg are willing sellers. However, they have just lost two of their three forwards from the previous campaign and may want to hang on to the Zambian for one more season.

He’s also contracted until 2024, which puts the club in a strong position when negotiations come around.

Would Liverpool make this sort of move and put the future of Rhian Brewster at risk? They’d certainly have to sell first, and we’ve seen how that’s going so far.