Liverpool are set on signing Alexander Isak if a £130 million deal is possible, but five other strikers were considered as alternatives – including Marcus Rashford.
Rashford was “floated” as a potential target during meetings between Liverpool’s transfer staff, but “nothing progressed beyond that” and “there is little potential for that to be resurrected.”
That is according to the Mail‘s Dominic King, who has detailed the five alternatives considered before contact was made over a deal for Isak.
While it is unclear if Liverpool will reach a breakthrough over the Newcastle striker, it is clear that he is by far and away the leading candidate and arguably the only elite centre-forward available.
Talks between the likes of sporting director Richard Hughes and chief scout Barry Hunter are claimed to have seen Aston Villa‘s Ollie Watkins, Brentford‘s Yoane Wissa, Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike discussed.
While interest in Ekitike is well known and the Frenchman remains the fallback option if Isak cannot be signed, that Liverpool have considered Watkins and Wissa is intriguing.
They were both among the five most prolific centre-forwards in the Premier League last season, with Wissa scoring 19 and Watkins 16 to place them behind only Isak, Erling Haaland and Chris Wood as the top-scoring strikers.
But they are clearly not within the top bracket that Liverpool will ultimately be aiming for as they look to replace Darwin Nunez as their No. 9.
Watkins will turn 30 in December while Wissa is 29 in two months’ time, meaning there is less scope for improvement even if they joined a side competing among the very elite.
The same applies to Rashford, who will be 28 in October and truthfully has shown little chance of reaching the world-class potential he showed when first breaking through at Man United.
While the England international is expected to leave Old Trafford this summer that will not be to Liverpool, not least due to the rivalry between the two clubs.
In reality, of those five strikers considered, Ekitike is the only viable alternative to Isak – and that explains Newcastle‘s own interest in the 23-year-old.
The names reported by King more so demonstrate why signing Isak would be of paramount importance to Liverpool this summer, with there a dearth of other world-class strikers who are considered attainable.
While Newcastle are publicly insistent that their No. 14 is not for sale and that their bid for Ekitike is with the intention of playing them together, BBC Sport‘s Sami Mokbel reports a deal worth £130 million could “successfully get Isak out of St James’ Park.”
