David Ornstein has said that Liverpool would be a ‘scary’ proposition next season if they manage to pull off one particular transfer coup this summer.
With the Premier League title safely in the bag, the Anfield hierarchy can now turn their attention towards making Arne Slot’s squad even stronger with a clutch of prospective signings over the next four months.
The probability of Darwin Nunez leaving Merseyside has seen a few centre-forwards being linked with the Reds, most prominently Alexander Isak, although some reliable sources have indicated that the Newcastle striker might be financially unattainable for the Reds.
Ornstein: Liverpool would be a ‘scary’ prospect if they sign Isak
The topic of Liverpool’s prospective summer transfer business arose during the latest episode of The Athletic FC Podcast, and Ornstein suggested that signing an elite number 9 could make Arne Slot’s side a frightening outfit next season.
The journalist said: “There is an expectation that Darwin Nunez will leave and so Liverpool will need to bring in somebody in that position, you assume. It’s scary to think if Liverpool manage to get a goalscorer, what on earth they could do in domestic and European competition.
“I do think Isak would be the one that Liverpool would look to, as would Arsenal and many other clubs. It’s less realistic to think it’s going to happen, though, because if Newcastle qualify for the Champions League, I think it’s not even a conversation.
“If they don’t qualify for the Champions League, maybe there is a window of opportunity, but I don’t think it really changes the price much of the transfer fee, let alone the salary request and agents’ commissions; and any club that’s going to commit to that level of resource, if indeed there’s any opportunity, is basically going to use all of their budget on that player.”
Isak move seems highly unlikely, but Liverpool could still pull off a smart coup elsewhere
While Ornstein hasn’t completely ruled out the possibility of Liverpool moving for Isak (should Newcastle miss out on the Champions League), he’s also acknowledged that such a transfer seems improbable even if the Magpies aren’t in Europe’s premier club competition next term.
When you also consider that The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards has outlined that an offer of £150m+ would be needed to ‘even start a conversation with’ St James’ Park chiefs, the likelihood of the Reds paying that much for one player is minimal.
We don’t doubt that the Swedish hitman – second only to Mo Salah in the Premier League Golden Boot standings this season with 22 top-flight goals – would be an exceptional coup who’d make LFC a truly devastating attacking force.
However, with Liverpool likely to invest throughout the squad this summer rather than going all-in on one transfer target, Isak doesn’t appear to be a realistically attainable striker as things stand.
Not that we should worry if a move for him is unfeasible – the Reds have until the end of August to sign players, and we’ve seen in previous years that while a much-discussed springtime link may come to nothing, the Reds are quite capable of pulling off a smart coup out of the blue.
This time two years ago, for example, not many would’ve envisaged Wataru Endo being an LFC player for the 2023/24 season…
