Liverpool set for transfer battle with Atletico Madrid after eyeing 21-year-old phenom

is reportedly interested in landing United States international Ricardo Pepi, .

The 21-year-old has scored six goals in 11 games for the Dutch side in the league this term, which is one less than the tally he managed in the Eredivisie last season. Pepi bagged seven goals in 27 league appearances last season for PSV, who won the 2023/24 Eredivisie convincingly, finishing seven points ahead of Arne Slot's Feyenoord.

And now it seems Pepi is being tracked by some of Europe's elite clubs, one of which is Liverpool. report the Reds are supposedly tracking Pepi, who could be available for a mooted $26.4m (£20.8m/€25m).

The report also claims Atletico Madrid is monitoring the forward, as are Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Right now, while Liverpool's forward line is well stocked, it only has one fit striker in the form of Darwin Nunez, with Diogo Jota sidelined.

Recently, the Athletic reported Jota will likely be out for "about a week after the international break", which would see the Reds star miss games against Southampton, Real Madrid and Manchester City. That would likely leave them with Nunez leading the line in all three games unless Slot decides to change things up in Liverpool's attack.

But with Jota unable to stay fit for a full season, it does raise questions about whether Liverpool should look to sign a striker in January, especially with them having the opportunity to win the Premier League this term. Jota has not managed to play a full Premier League season for the Reds, with the last and only time he played over 30 domestic league games for Liverpool coming back during the 2021/22 campaign.

Links to Pepi, a player Slot will know from his Eredivisie days, could mean Liverpool is exploring all possible avenues to bring in a young striker who they can develop into a top class forward.

Liverpool.com says: "The links to Pepi are interesting, especially given Slot will know all about him from when he managed Feyenoord in the Eredivisie. Ultimately, Liverpool could do with looking to bring in a striker in January to bolster their forward line, giving them more firepower to attack the second half of the season."