The IDEAL striker Liverpool could sign to replace Darwin Nunez | OneFootball

In order to get the most out of their summer transfer budget, Liverpool will need to take advantage of cheap market opportunities that are flying under the radar.

This will mean looking beyond the popular targets that all the elite European clubs are interested in, that will cost vast and unaffordable sums of money.

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Liverpool's main stumbling block is likely to be replacing Darwin Nunez as the Reds' striker.

It's not that there are a lack of options out there to choose from. In fact, the club's recruitment team arguably has too many targets to assess. Mistakes of the past cannot be allowed to happen again and so there is a greater focus on due-diligence this time around.

But the balance between risk and reward is a tight rope to walk. High prices are being rumoured for both the experienced candidates and the youngsters with high potential. Neither will seemingly be able to give you a guarantee of success, so the decision is fuelled by hope more than anything else.

Today, a striker was placed on the market that Liverpool have not been linked with, and while he will have his flaws - as everyone does - the overall package he offers could be perfect for the Reds.

Dusan Vlahovic to end Liverpool's misery?

According to Fabrizio Romano, the Serbian striker will leave Juventus this summer.

He writes: "No negotiations to extend his contract at the club currently expiring in June 2026, and his departure remains the most likely outcome."

At 25 years old, he is now at a crossroad in his career. His next move will be a defining one and after doing a little bit of digging on him, it's clear that a profile like him at Liverpool would be fascinating.

In his last five seasons, he has scored 21, 29, 14, 18 and 15 goals for Juventus and Fiorentina. By definition, he is a dependable striker who has delivered a consistent return in front of goal.

Furthermore, you might be wondering how 'prolific' he is. Well, across the last two seasons, he has made 78 appearances, missing 44 big chances in that time. Darwin Nunez - who is known for missing a lot of opportunities - in comparison, has missed 54 in 99 appearances.

After that assessment, you might feel unconvinced, but Erling Haaland - possibly the best striker in world football at the moment - has missed 84 big chances in 85 games using the same parameters.

As such, it needs to be understood that strikers miss chances, at every level, and so while Nunez might not have worked out at Liverpool, Vlahovic's record should not be off-putting.

Then you might ask how attainable the Serbian is. Given his optimal age profile, his consistent goal record and his limited number of big chances missed, you would assume he would be expensive.

Yet according to Calcio Mercato, Juventus aren't looking for anything extraordinary. Their latest report on the striker claimed that 'the Old Lady will only consider offers that will be higher than 20 million, with a player's valuation that will start at around 40/45million'.

A quick translation from euros into pounds leads us to an estimate of anywhere between £16.8m - £37.8m, presenting the Reds with a particularly reasonable asking price to meet.

His injury record is also clean with 30 games missed so far in his career and no reoccurring problems.

The only issue - which seems to be proving problematic for Juventus as well - is his wage demands.

Per Capology, the Serbian is earning £315,000 a week, which would put him third on Liverpool's wage bill, just behind Mohamed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk.

Any potential approach would need him to reduce his financial expectations, in light of the fact that he needs a club to take a chance on him, and Liverpool would be purchasing a bit of an unknown player until he was able to deliver performances reminiscent of the heights he's previously reached.

But everything else looks good, and for £35m, the Reds could focus most of their transfer budget on Florian Wirtz, who has been recently linked with a £100m move to Liverpool, while bringing in someone new to fill the striker role instead of leaving the team undermanned going into next season.

We'll have to wait and see if any reports link the Reds as an interested party, but the package he offers is far superior to what Nunez and Diogo Jota offer and his potential is clear for all to see.