If a Premier League fan were asked who has been the outstanding attacker this season, it would be one answer:
Mohamed Salah.
With an incredible 44-goal league contribution (27 goals and 17 assists), the Egyptian has spearheaded Liverpool's attack with crucial moments to send his club 12 points top of the league. However, there has been the argument that the Reds have been overreliant on their starman, which has highlighted other members of the forward and their lack of contribution at times this season.
This would have seemed a ridiculous statement following Federico Chiesa's arrival in the summer, as it looked to cement Liverpool as the side with the best attack in the season. Despite being in a position where a handful of wins guarantees their 20th league title, there will be many wondering what Liverpool's front line will look like in August 2025.
A bigger question would be how it has come to this.
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Forwardline chemistry and fluency (or lack of it)
The expectation is that a bigger array of players to pick from creates fewer problems for a manager. Arne Slot has felt the opposite end of the scale, as the Dutchman has struggled to commit to a front three all season.
At the start of the campaign, it was Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah supporting Diogo Jota up front for the first few games. The two wingers' blistering numbers made it a battle between Jota and Darwin Nunez for the number nine position.
Jota inevitable niggly injury-hit season provided Nunez with a chance to claim a starting place in the team. Yet Cody Gakpo's form in the League Cup and Champions League convinced Slot that the Dutchman would occupy the left wing spot whilst Diaz adopted a false nine position. Meanwhile, a lack of a proper pre-season and match fitness held Chiesa back from making an impact until January.
The main takeaway from the rotating between preferred front threes is a lack of fluency. For injuries and managing minutes, swapping forwards around looks like a smart method, but it denies the chance to strike up partnerships across the pitch.
For instance, in Liverpool's 2019/2020 title-winning campaign, their famous front three of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, and Salah started 25 league games together, whilst the most games any combination of the 24/25 attackers have started together has been ten games. This shows that despite greater strength in numbers this season, Liverpool's attack has been inconsistent in regards to building a defiant starting front three for next season.
To look into this further, Liverpool's 19/20 front three combined for 11 goals in regards to goals and assists. Without Salah, the current squad has combined for a total of five goals, which reflects their dependence on their man to supply the other attackers as well as score them.
The lack of faith in the rest of the attackers has led to a lot of uncertainty about their future in a Red shirt. Nunez has already had interest from Saudi Arabia, whilst Diaz has been linked with a move to Barcelona. Another stop-start year will lead to a question mark over Jota's ranking in the squad, and a lack of minutes for Liverpool's only signing under the new regime in Chisea will lead to speculation over a move away.
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Lack of form all at once
There has been a lot of criticism aimed at Salah for not performing in some recent high-stakes game against PSG in the Champions League and Newcastle at Wembley. In the 32-year-old's defense he has been the only forward who has hit any kind of form in 2025.
Diaz and Jota have each scored one league goal so far in 2025 and have struggled to carry their early season form into the crucial period of the season. Except for a substitute heroic effort against Brentford, Nunez has regressed so much from the figure that at least put the hard yards in despite a lack of goals. Even Slot had some harsh words for the Uruguayian after showing signs of giving up at Villa Park a few weeks ago, which looked like a further statement that his future lies elsewhere.
After six consecutive games scoring at Anfield, Gakpo's goals have dried up, and an injury has stunted what was proving to be a fruitful season for the Dutchman. Ironically in a season where many expected Salah to slow down there was expectation Chisea could take a portion of the right wing responsibility.
Instead, the Italian has had to settle for a spot on the sidelines waiting for limited opportunities to impress, whilst Salah has taken his game to time great level so far this season. It does raise questions about games where Salah could have been rested and why the Italian was brought in. Despite this, the former Juvenetus man has looked lively every time he has taken to the pitch, accumulating in him scoring a consultation against Newcastle in the recent cup final.
Compare the rest of Liverpool's forward players to Salah who has scored ten league goals on his own. It is evident when the Red's main star is not on song then the rest of the team doesn't following in a attacking sense.
There should be a shared responsibility, as Firmino and Mane could bail Salah out of trouble by enjoying their purple patch when the Egyptian was struggling. When the current crop has all hit a dry spell at the same time for different reasons, it makes a solution harder to find in how to line up. This was apparent when Liverpool's head coach played their biggest away game at the Etihad with Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai playing as two unorthodox false nines in a 4-2-2-2 shape.
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What does the future hold?
With Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil Van Dijk and Salah contracts nearly up and expectation these positions may be priorities there will be a questions around who starts as the centre forward. The elephant in the room will be the hot topic of the Premier League in Alexander Isak as a future number nine at Anfield.
The 25-year-old has the aura to be the goalscorer Liverpool have been crying out for arguably since they have had Luis Suarez. Firmino was a unique footballer in being the selfless pinpoint for the team rather than the star of the show.
Isak have shown signs of being able to link up with his fellow forwards which has been evident with his onfield connection with Anthony Gordon. The latter as well has been linked with a move to Anfield which could fill the void ponteially Luis Diaz could leave.
Liverpool has been the expert at bringing in attacking players before they hit their peak, and with Michael Edwards conducting Liverpool's transfer strategy for the future, there will likely be younger players who are ready to blossom. At the same time, the same team in the past have negotiated eye-catching sales to help fund the recruitment, which may be vital when considering the future of the current forward players.
In a season where Arne Slot has adapted to English football like a fish to water is setting up a defining summer for the club. There will be questions all over the pitch, but the fundamental business that is needed is reshaping the attack.
