Why Liverpool want to sign Iraola’s new version of Semenyo

Liverpool still have a way to go before the start of the 2026/27 Premier League season, but the pieces are starting to click into place.

Efforts are ongoing to sign Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye from Paris Saint-Germain, two separate deals, and success on that front would see Andoni Iraola’s frontline replenished after last season’s aggressive decline.

Forwards, forwards, forwards. They steal headlines on the field and dominate discourse throughout the off-season. But maybe Liverpool have other areas in need of surgery too.

With Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister both unbuckled in their Liverpool seats, fans are itching to see an elite midfielder welcomed. Moreover, Iraola’s backline is shorn of depth, but FSG have moved shrewdly to land Ronald Araujo from Barcelona.

What Liverpool can expect from Araujo

Araujo is a complicated player. As far as talent goes, he is one of the finest centre-halves in world football. However, inconsistencies have plagued the 27-year-old throughout his eight-year career at Barcelona, and he has played only 36 times in La Liga across the past two terms.

Expect a robust and powerful defender with an elegant ball-playing game fostered over so many years in Catalonia. Araujo is the perfect profile to replace Ibrahima Konate and assist Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet in their development – but he will not start every game across the campaign.

Even last season, with injuries and personal problems limiting him to a bit-part role in Hansi Flick’s team, Araujo showcased his deep-seated ability on the ball, defending with aplomb too. He completed 92% of his passes and won 67% of his aerial battles.

In the past, Flick has described him as a “leader” and “one of the best in the world”. In this, he will complement Virgil van Dijk and ease the pressure on the veteran captain’s shoulders.

But there’s still a sense that Liverpool are short. To be sure, Uruguay international Araujo is a shrewd signing on loan until the end of the season (with an option purchase option), but Iraola will be acutely aware that numerous areas lack depth and dynamism.

Forwards, forwards, forwards. Liverpool need more of them. They might steal headlines, but they also get you goals in spades, and Liverpool don’t have enough in attack to sustain a challenge for the Premier League title.

Iraola knows a thing or two about creating a first-class attacker. Just look at Antoine Semenyo – Liverpool believe they could present Iraola with his next version of the Manchester City superstar.

Liverpool in talks to sign Iraola’s new Semenyo

Liverpool were beaten by Man City in the race for Semenyo in January. The Ghanaian left Iraola’s Bournemouth to play in Europe and fight for titles, but he was made by Iraola, who is now searching for a new attacking superstar.

Barcola and Mbaye are Liverpool’s top targets, but FSG have not made headway on either deal yet, and the new Premier League campaign is only two weeks away.

According to TEAMtalk, though, Liverpool are prepared to turn their attention elsewhere. In fact, they are among a long list of clubs who have held talks with Real Madrid over a deal for Endrick. Los Blancos are willing to let him leave on loan, but are reluctant to include a potential purchase clause, something Liverpool would want inserted if proceeding with a deal.

Endrick, 20, joined Real Madrid from Palmeiras in his Brazilian homeland for £51m in 2024, and he has since emerged as a potential superstar, albeit a player still searching for a breakthrough into Real Madrid’s starting line-up. An “11/10 talent“, according to scout Jacek Kulig, Endrick tore Ligue 1 to pieces when sent out on loan with Lyon for the latter stage of the 2025/26 campaign.

He might have hoped to stay and fight for his place in the Spanish capital, but Endrick proved that he is an elite forward in the making, notching 12 goal involvements from only 14 starts.

Such power and physicality. Endrick’s versatility also emphasises that he is very much a Semenyo-esque attacker, the kind of profile that Iraola has come to adore over his three years in the Premier League.

Semenyo had ten Premier League goals to his name last season by the time City came a-calling. Iraola created a monster of a forward, and it’s a thematic thing – Eli Junior Kroupi bloomed into Bournemouth’s new focal point last term.

Endrick is a physical and combative attacker. His natural eye for goal makes him a dangerous opponent for even the strongest defences across Europe, and he showed at Lyon that he is capable of adapting to new environments from the get-go, bagging an emphatic Ligue 1 hat-trick only weeks into his time at Lyon.

Endrick is the real deal. A maverick and a game-changer. He can play up front but has featured prominently as a right winger over the past few years.

In all honesty, though, this is one of the most exciting attackers in world football, and Iraola might have experience in developing exciting stars such as Semenyo, but Endrick could far outstrip him – and the rest.