LIVERPOOL manager Arne Slot has dismissed suggestions that the club targeted Victor Osimhen in the summer.
The English Premier League champions spent a combined £205m on Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike in August, while Osimhen joined Galatasaray from Napoli for around €75m.
Liverpool face Galatasaray in Istanbul tonight in the UEFA Champions League, and Osimhen terrorised Jurgen Klopp’s Reds in the competition three years ago in a 4-1 win as a Napoli player.
However, the Super Eagles striker was not one of the two players Slot earmarked when it became clear a big-spending summer would be needed to reshape the Liverpool forward line.
A late call will be made on Osimhen’s fitness by Galatasaray boss Okan Buruk for the game at RAMS Park, but Slot outlined his happiness with the captures of £79m Hugo Ekitike and £125m Alexander Isak when asked if the 26-year-old Osimhen was on his shortlist when he and sporting director Richard Hughes sat down to assess who to target in the transfer window.
“We have added two No.9s,” Slot said during his pre-match press conference when asked about interest in Osimhen. “So how should I say this the right way in English?
“Unfortunate is not the word I should use but because of an enormous tragedy with Diogo Jota, in the end we had to bring in two No.9s.
“We always thought we’d replace Darwin Nunez with one No.9, but we had to bring in two. We have always looked for very good players but it was always clear to us that from the start we wanted these two (Isak and Ekitike) if we needed two.”