Florian Wirtz's medical is scheduled for Friday, and Liverpool supporters are surely now confident that they will get their man.

Despite all the noise regarding obscene transfer fees, Bayer Leverkusen's Wirtz will sign for an initial £100m fee, with a further £16m achievable through add-ons.

No doubt, Arne Slot can't wait to bring the German playmaker into his team, adding some truly world-class quality to ensure the Premier League champions stand a great chance of defending their belt.

Of course, Liverpool need a new centre-forward to dance to the creative tune Wirtz will play from number ten. Darwin Nunez's time on Merseyside is at an end, reported interest from Serie A rising.

Multiple names have been bandied about, but Hugo Ekitike's has held the most weight over the past several weeks.

The latest on Hugo Ekitike to Liverpool

Liverpool need a striker, and Eintracht Frankfurt's Ekitike has been billed the perfect fit, not just a budding goalscorer of a high class but also a dynamic and rounded player whose strength lies in his elegance and flair.

The 22-year-old completed his first full season in Germany last year, scoring 22 goals and providing 12 assists across 48 matches in all competitions.

But with a deft touch, selfless link-up play and intelligent off-the-ball movements all front and centre of Ekitike's skillset, there's little question that he has a "very complete offensive range", as noted by one French reporter.

Analyst Ben Mattinson has also dubbed Ekitike "one of the best strikers out there", but he's not the best. That particular player lingers elusively out of reach for all who might want him this summer, but Liverpool haven't given up hope.

Liverpool still in for Ekitike alternative

As per the Liverpool Echo's Ian Doyle, Liverpool are still huge admirers of Newcastle United's Alexander Isak and are attentive to his situation.

Even though The Athletic's David Ornstein claimed the 25-year-old would not be moving this summer after qualifying for the Champions League, Liverpool chiefs are looking to raise funds through the sales of existing players, and the summer is still young.

For their part, Newcastle categorically don't want to sell. Isak is the cream of Eddie Howe's crop and has been valued at more than £150m.

Why Alexander Isak would be perfect

Isak is one of the best players in the Premier League, with analyst Raj Chohan even declaring him "the best striker in the world" after his extraordinary 2024/25 campaign.

Newcastle signed the marksman from Real Sociedad three years ago in what remains a club-record £63m move, but Isak has shaken away the injury issues of seasons past to have enjoyed his finest year yet, bagging 27 goals and six assists over 42 matches in all competitions.

In the Premier League, his 23-goal return was surpassed only by that man Mohamed Salah, and with Isak missing only 18 big chances and creating 11 golden opportunities for his teammates, as per Sofascore, he'd help Liverpool's Egyptian star and the rest in creating a layered attacking game next year.

Isak's goalscoring is second-to-none, sure, but that's not why Liverpool have a vested interest. Instead, it's the player's underlying quality, so rounded and technically impressive.

His physicality and robustness (when swerving the injury front) have established the rangy forward to become one of the best in the world, with his goal against Liverpool at Wembley to win the Carabao Cup in March underscoring his value.

Maybe that was the game that convinced FSG of this star's prowess, for rumours of his potential cross-country summer switch have persisted ever since.

It's hardly surprising. Liverpool clearly want a certain type of centre-forward, with FBref's data-driven model revealing Ekitike to be one of Isak's most statistically comparable players.

Let's have a look at how they match up.

What's interesting is that Ekitike is a bit more active in his ball carrying and in his recoveries, but he also unleashes strikes on goal with greater regularity, with xG (expected goals) tally reaching 0.76 per 90.

Isak's xG tally, conversely, amounted only to 0.66 per 90, which basically means he scored more frequently than he should have from the chances he found himself at the centre of.

Ultimately, we're not going to see both players under Slot's wing, but one of them should suffice. Given Ekitike's stylistic similarities to Isak, though, you could argue that he's little more than an imitation of the Swede, pastiching his style of play but not to the same effect.

The 6 foot 3 star has a wealth of experience as a top striker in the Premier League, so it's understandable that Liverpool would have to pay a premium.

Would the £150m mark be too much for the Reds? It's likely, but then such a figure is potentially overinflated. Wirtz, it must be said, was touted at €150m (£127m), right up into Liverpool announced themselves the finances involved in a deal that leaves the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal with bigger outlays on single-player transfers at this stage.

To fork out what would likely reach the £100m ballpark once again in the same transfer window would be a big ask of FSG, but the American owners have established a self-sustainable model that has bred illustrious success, and with the right player sales, this might just be one to keep an eye on.