Benjamin Sesko, Viktor Gyokeres and Hugo Ekitike have all moved clubs this summer, meaning they are no longer headlining this ranking of the 10 best available strikers.
Despite signing Ekitike, Liverpool are still in for Newcastle United rebel Alexander Isak, who has crashed into top spot, and is joined by nine potential replacements as the Magpies get very, very desperate.
We also have the best available attacking midfielders, centre-backs, wingersand defensive midfielders.
10) Randal Kolo Muani (Paris Saint-Germain)
After a successful six-month loan at Juventus, Kolo Muani has been expected to join the Italian giants permanently all summer, but nope, he’s still technically a PSG player.
A return to Turin still feels inevitable, and could happen on a season-long loan. Juve are obviously being stubborn and stingy; meanwhile, Premier League clubs like Newcastle, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur have been linked.
The Parisiens paid a whopping £80m for the 26-year-old in 2023 but he only managed 11 goals in 57 matches. He’s been a colossal flop, but as Hugo Ekitike has proved, there’s still hope for Kolo Muani.
9) Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea)
Jackson divides opinion, but his Premier League record is far from terrible. In fact, it’s pretty good. A brace against West Ham last September put him on 17 non-penalty league goals for Chelseawhich was more than Mohamed Salah managed for Liverpool (16) since the African striker’s move from Villarreal a year earlier. He scored 14 and assisted five in 35 in 2023/24 and then recorded as many assists and 10 goals in 30 last term.
Yes, Jackson is a big-chances-missed extraordinaire, but those numbers can’t be sniffed at. Clubs fighting for European football shouldn’t turn their nose up at him, and the 24-year-old would also be a solid option for any foreign clubs that sell a striker on this list.
Chelsea aren’t helping themselves with a quite ridiculous £80m asking price, which no club in their right mind will pay, not even Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal. If he’s an £80m striker, why does Enzo Maresca not want him?
8) Jorgen Strand Larsen (Wolves)
Wolves will sell Strand Larsen if they get silly money, but have rejected a £50m bid from Newcastle for their star striker. £50m clearly isn’t ‘silly’ enough.
Incidentally, the Norwegian has only just permanently signed for Wolves for around £25m after spending last season on loan from Celta Vigo. He will surely be eager to make the move from the Midlands to the north east, where he will be able to experience Champions League football for the first time.
The 25-year-old scored 14 goals in 35 Premier League games last term despite playing in Matheus Cunha’s shadow. That was in a pretty poor Wolves team, so he could hit new heights surrounded by Anthony Elanga, Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon, and friends.
7) Lois Opennda (RB Leipzig)
Leipzig have already lost Benjamin Sesko, but they are reportedly willing to listen to offers for Openda, who has scored 33 goals in 68 Bundesliga matches.
Sunderland have, ambitiously, been linked with the Belgian, while Aston Villa chose Evann Guessand over him. Surprisingly, Newcastle aren’t there. Eddie Howe doesn’t like buying players outside of Our League…
6) Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea)
During his time at Leipzig, Nkunku tore up the Bundesliga, recording a ridiculous 90 goal contributions in 119 league games.
The Frenchman has been unable to replicate that form at Chelsea, with an early injury making it difficult to break into Mauricio Pochettino’s team, which then contributed to a lack of Premier League minutes under Enzo Maresca.
Despite his underwhelming Blues stint, Nkunku is an incredible market opportunity. Desperate Newcastle have been linked, though their current focus is the aforementioned Strand Larsen. A return to Germany seems the most likely move, with Leipzig keen on a reunion, and Bayern also there.
Nkunku can play anywhere in attack and is also capable of operating in an attacking midfield role. If he’s available for under £35m, there should be a long queue of potential suitors. We have to assume he isn’t available for under £35m, because there are hardly any suitors. But for both him and Jackson, Chelsea will surely keep dropping and dropping their asking price with less than a week left of the summer transfer window.
5) Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus)
Dusan Vlahovic turned down Arsenal for Juventus in 2022and it’s hard to fault him – it looked like the right call at the time. But hindsight is cruel and Arsenal are doing a lot better than the Old Lady.
Things haven’t quite clicked for the Serbian in Turin. A goal every three games is fine, but not what you expect from a £70m signing. Juventus are reportedly open to selling and are willing to add Kolo Muani regardless of Vlahovic’s future.
It’s tough to pin down his next move. He’s good enough to start for a big club, but not quite good enough to justify a bidding war.
4) Aleksandar Mitrovic (Al Hilal)
Mitrovic has been sitting around, watching his current employers aggressively pursuing striker after striker all summer. They eventually landed Darwin Nunez, which removes his name from this ranking and allows Mitrovic to crash in.
A return to the Premier League has been mooted and there are plenty of teams that could be a lot worse. He’s scored 68 in 79 for the Saudi club, which does beg the question: Why did they want a new striker so badly? Ah well, their loss is another team’s gain. Anyone from Leeds United to Newcastle via ex-club Fulham would be silly to ignore the crazy Serb.
3) Yoane Wiss (Brentford)
There are two significant numbers when it comes to Wissa: 29 and 19. The first is how old he turns on September 3, which might put off some clubs, and the other is his 2024/25 Premier League goal tallywhich should be enough to put any age reservations to bed.
Brentford don’t want to lose Wissa after selling Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United, and are in a strong financial situation after earning £65m for the Cameroonian a year after getting £27m for David Raya and £40m for Ivan Toney.
Reports suggest that the Bees have broken a promise to sell Wissa this summer, and the player has understandably taken it poorly. Newcastle thought they received a boost when their Premier League rivals signed Dango Ouattara, but he’s the Mbeumo replacement. It’s not looking good for the Magpies and that’s why their attention has turned to Strand Larsen.
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2) Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
There was an offer from Arsenal in January that was incredibly ill-timed as Aston Villa had just agreed to sell Jhon Duran, but both club and player would likely be interested if the Gunners returned again.
The problem? Watkins is now 29, which is a similar mark against his name as Brentford’s Wissa. That’s why Manchester United picked Benjamin Sesko.
But he does guarantee Premier League goals, delivering double figures in each of his last five seasons. If he’s patient, he might be the beneficiary of late panic. Hello, Newcastle. They’re desperate, didn’t you know?
1) Alexander Isak (Newcastle United)
This is one hell of a mess, folks. Isak reportedly informed Newcastle of his decision to leave last month, amid interest from Liverpool. Since then, the Reds have failed with a £110m bid. The Magpies have also failed to sign their number-one target to replace him, Benjamin Sesko. Isak did not feature in pre-season and is training alone. He has moved out of his house and, most importantly, was not allowed to attend a team BBQ.
Liverpool have already spent over £100m on Florian Wirtz, £70m combined on full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, and an initial £69m on Ekitike, but they still want Isak. After selling Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz for over £100m, we have been expecting a second bid. £150m should do it.
Isak is one of the best strikers in world football, and his transfer stance has shocked many and rightly upset Newcastle fans, who are now dreading the loss of their talisman. The Swedish international has scored 54 goals in 86 Premier League appearances for the Magpies.
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