Alexander Isak is the next Mohamed Salah. He just needs to become a Liverpool player to prove it.
While Liverpool's summer spending spree amounts to £270 million so far on Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, sources have told ESPN that the Premier League champions continue to pursue a move for Isak despite Newcastle rejecting an initial inquiry two weeks ago.
If the wheels begin to turn in Liverpool's favor and a deal for Isak suddenly becomes a real possibility, it will likely involve a fee in the region of £150 million to sign the Sweden forward -- a fee that would take their transfer outlay since the end of last season beyond £400 million. It's a staggering number for a club that has traditionally been outspent by Premier League rivals Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United, but there are two reasons why Liverpool are prepared to break the bank for Isak amid their busy summer.
First of all, they can afford it -- an explanation follows -- and secondly, sources have told ESPN that this transfer window has been identified by the Anfield hierarchy as the one in which they build their team for the next five years and Isak is key to that.
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With Salah, now 33, committing to a new two-year contract this summer, there is a realization at Liverpool that their talismanic forward must be replaced at some stage in the near future. And while the numbers for Isak are potentially huge, by signing him now, Liverpool will have their Salah replacement locked in, and the task of replacing the old Salah-Sadio Mané-Roberto Firmino forward line will be complete.
In the space of one window, at a possible combined cost of £350 million, the signings of Wirtz, Ekitike and (if they get their wish) Isak will give Liverpool their attacking unit for the next five years at least.
The uncertainty over Isak's future at Newcastle continues to grow due to his absence from the club's preseason tour of Singapore and South Korea. ESPN reported last week that Isak has made it clear he wants to consider the options of a move away from St James' Park. Liverpool's next move in their pursuit of the 25-year-old will decide whether he moves to Anfield this summer or if Newcastle reject any prospect of the player leaving the club while he still has three years remaining on his contract.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said just over a week ago, after leaving Isak out of a preseason friendly against Celtic in Glasgow, that he was "confident" his star striker would still be at the club when the transfer window closes on Sept. 1, but speaking in Singapore at the weekend, Howe hinted at Isak's future being taken out of his hands by saying, "Ultimately, the decision will rest with the board."
With Newcastle still constrained by the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), despite being owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), the club has struggled to sign players this summer. Only Nottingham Forest's Anthony Elanga and 18-year-old South Korean winger Seung-Soo Park have been added to Howe's squad; to those pulling the financial levers at St James', a £150 million deal for Isak would give Newcastle the ability to spend big, albeit at the cost of losing their best player.
Newcastle's recruitment difficulties offer encouragement to Liverpool. Managers and supporters generally take an emotional view of players coming and going, but owners and financial departments put the business first and at some point, it will become virtually impossible for Newcastle to reject a huge offer.
For Liverpool, however, the window of opportunity is right now. Isak is open to a move, and they have the funds to make it happen. As Premier League champions, Liverpool are also the most appealing domestic destination -- something which might not be the case in 12 months' time.
So how do Liverpool have the funds considering their already mammoth outlay on new signings? Liverpool spent just £35 million last summer -- £10 million on Federico Chiesa and £25 million on goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who spent last season on loan at Valencia -- but raised £40 million by offloading defender Sepp van den Berg and playmaker Fábio Carvalho to Brentford.
Already this summer, Liverpool have banked an initial £52 million following the exits of Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Caoimhín Kelleher (Brentford) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid), while a £65.5 million deal to offload Luis Díaz to Bayern Munich is almost done. When you add in the £82.7 million Liverpool earned in the Champions League last season and £174.9 million from winning the Premier League, it is clear the club has significant financial headroom, with the £270 million already spent well accounted for by the money coming in.
If, as expected, Darwin Núñez, Harvey Elliott and Chiesa are also moved on before Sept. 1, Liverpool will likely raise a further £80 million to £100 million. It would mean that a £150 million move for Isak would not put the club anywhere close to breaching their PSR limits. But there is also the factor that Liverpool are doing the long-term investment in one summer. It is unlikely they will need to spend so big again next year.
So if Isak arrives and adds himself to those already signed, Liverpool will have future-proofed their attacking options and also given their fans the tantalizing prospect of Isak and Salah playing together until the new man eventually eclipses him as the main man. For that to happen, Liverpool have to unlock the door to signing Isak, but it's not as complicated as it might look from the outside.