Ahead of coming up against Victor Osimhen, Arne Slot has explained that the striker was not a target for Liverpool this summer as they sought reinforcements at No. 9.

Liverpool were always expected to be in the market for a No. 9 this summer with Darwin Nunez long tipped for the exit, prompting links to countless forwards across Europe and beyond.

Alexander Isaac was firmly the No. 1 target but with Newcastle initially playing hardball, Liverpool were linked to plenty of alternatives, including Victor Osimhen, who was then of Napoli.

Reports linked the Nigerian as a possible alternative before he went on to sign for Galatasaray in a £65.4 million deal, but Slot has now refuted that the 26-year-old was ever a target this summer.

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In explaining how the tragic death of Diogo Jota impacted the club’s decisions in the transfer window, Slot said only Isak and Hugo Ekitike were considered when asked about Osimhen.

“Yes, we’ve added two number nines,” Slot said. “Because of an enormous tragedy that happened with Diogo Jotain the end, we had to bring in two number nines.

“We always thought we were going to replace Darwin Nunez for one number nine. But in the end, we had to bring in two number nines.

“We’ve always been looking, we’re always looking for very good players, but it was always clear to us that from the start that we wanted to bring in these two (Isak and Ekitike), if we needed to.”

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Liverpool ultimately signed their two targets while Osimhen found a new home with Galatasaray, where he has since featured four times with a return of two goals after early fitness woes.

He is not expected to start on Tuesday night after being asked to play through the pain barrier over the weekend in a bid to play a more involved role against the Reds.

Ekitike, meanwhile, is anticipated to make his return after his, in his own words, “not smart” red card that led to a suspension over the weekend that halted his positive run of form.