‘Alexander Isak move fits into £300m Liverpool transfer budget’
Liverpool are considered able to buy Alexander Isak for a huge price-tag despite a record deal for Florian Wirtz among others.
The Swedish striker finished second only to Mohamed Salah in the Premier League golden boot race last season.
Arne Slot’s side may have waltzed their way to the title, but they did so with the Egyptian winger’s goals covering their striker’s mishaps.
Diogo Jota netted six times in the Premier League, whilst Darwin Nunez scored just five and the pair are expected to leave Liverpool in the current transfer window.
The former Borussia Dortmund striker is seen by many as the perfect option to lead the Reds’ line, but Newcastle’s £150million asking price for Isak will prove extremely prohibitive to a deal being struck this summer, with Arsenal and Barcelona also interested.
But according to former Chelsea man and talkSPORT presenter Jason Cundy, Liverpool have the financial strength to sign the Swede as their budget this summer could stretch to around £300m.
Liverpool sitting on the cash to afford Alexander Isak deal
The presenter spoke with talkSPORT host Andy Goldstein about the finances of a deal that would take Isak from Tyneside to Merseyside.
Cundy said (20 June): “What have Liverpool got? They haven’t spent a huge amount of money; they signed [Alexis] Mac Allister a couple of years ago. Don’t remember too many other players coming in, and Slot didn’t spend any money.
“They brought [Jeremie] Frimpong in, they’re gonna buy [Milos] Kerkez, it looks as if the Wirtz deal is done, that’s £100m.
“But Liverpool were looking at [Moises] Caicedo when Chelsea brought him in and they were prepared to bid upwards of £100m for him, right? Didn’t get that over the line.
“But they’ve not spent this money, so it’s sitting somewhere. It wouldn’t surprise me if Liverpool have got the thick end of £250-300m in this window to spend.
“That [signing Isak] would fit into that bracket.”
Liverpool can afford to wait to do Alexander Isak
Football Insider Verdict
Conventional wisdom would suggest that when given the opportunity to get a transfer over the line, especially when the player is so highly sought after, speed is the name of the game.
But despite interest from most of Europe, few can feasibly afford a deal for Isak.
Barcelona are magicians when it comes to making a transfer work, but having agreed a deal for Nico Williams, signing the Swedish striker would be a step too far.
Arsenal may be able to do a deal for Isak, but having so far signed nobody else, the priority will likely be to choose a more affordable option and distribute the funds around the squad.
So why should Liverpool wait? Well, Newcastle find themselves seemingly incapable of getting an incoming transfer over the line.
As the window stretches on, the temptation to cash in on Isak, and use those funds to sign several players will only grow.
Liverpool may miss out on valuable time with the 25-year-old as a part of their squad, or potentially other targets, but they may well end up getting a bargain and have a little more cash to spend if they play the waiting game.