Liverpool Target Isak with Several Backup Options

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Alexander Isak
Alexander Isak (ph.FAB | Shutterstock)

Premier League champions Liverpool have already done significant business in the current summer transfer window. Among other deals, the Reds have brought in Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for a whopping £100m fee, sold Jarell Quansah, to the same club, for £35m, and added Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth for around £40m. They also managed to extract £10m from Real for the early release of Trent Alexander-Arnold. But boss Arne Slot appears in no mood to stop there, and the Anfield outfit have been linked with several other players, most notably Newcastle United’s star man, Alexander Isak.

Liverpool appear to be a very well-run club and they won’t put all their eggs in the Isak basket. So in this article, we’ll first take a look at their prime target (according to the latest reports) as well as their various backup plans should the move for Newcastle’s brilliant Swede fail to materialise.

Alexander Isak, Newcastle United, Possible Fee: £120-130m


25-year-old Alexander Isak has been at Newcastle since his 2022 transfer from Real Sociedad. The tall, rangy striker has proved himself a big hit on Tyneside for his skills, pace and finishing ability. After notching 10 goals in 22 Premier League games in his first season at the club, he’s gone from strength to strength, scoring 21 in 30 league games in 2023/24 and 23 in 34 EPL matches in 2024/25. With 62 goals in 109 games for the Magpies in all competitions, it’s easy to see why Liverpool would very much like to add him to their ranks.

The main problem, from a Liverpool point of view, however, is that Newcastle really don’t want to sell their prize asset… at least for now. Eddie Howe has been vocal about the need for his club to retain the services of their best players and to add additional quality. The Magpies apparently have Hugo Ekitike on their radar, but so too do Liverpool.

Hugo Ekitike, Eintracht Frankfurt, Possible Fee: £70-80m

If the Reds can’t acquire Isak, their number one backup plan could well be the 23-year-old French striker Hugo Ekitike. He shares many of Isak’s attributes, and though he isn’t quite as prolific in front of goal, he has shown signs that he could be, if given the right service. In the season just gone, Ekitike scored 15 goals in 33 Bundesliga matches, and 22 in 48 games in all competitions. That’s been his best-ever return and given his age, Slot might see him as a good-value alternative to Isak as he could be at the club for many years, if things work out.

Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa, Possible Fee: £35-40m


If Liverpool want to opt for a player with proven Premier League goal-getting abilities, but without breaking the bank, Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins could fit the bill. He’ll turn 30 in December, so he’s starting to get towards the final few years of his career, but that means his club won’t be asking silly money if the Reds come knocking.

Question marks would remain over whether Watkins could get enough goals for the Reds to make it worthwhile. In the last three Premier League campaigns, he’s scored 15, 19 and 16 goals having a very good number of games for his club. He also bagged eight goals in 12 Europa Conference League appearances in 2023/24, for what that’s worth, though only one goal in 12 games in the Champions League last term. Overall, we think the Reds will only turn to Watkins as a backup to a backup if other options fall through.

Yoane Wissa, Brentford, Possible Fee: £25-32m


With both Barcelona and Bayern Munich showing serious interest in Liverpool’s left winger Luis Diaz, Slot is reportedly making contingency plans and is considering a bid for Brentford attacker Yoane Wissa. The French 28-year-old can play on the left or through the middle and scored an impressive 19 goals in 35 Premier League appearances last term. With 49 goals in 149 games for Brentford in all competitions since joining from Ligue 1 side Lorient in 2021, Wissa could be yet another fine attacking addition to the Liverpool squad. Whether Brentford could be persuaded to part company with one of their best players remains to be seen, of course. Although everyone has a price.

Victor Osimhen, Napoli, Possible Fee: £45-50m


Although Manchester United had been seen as the frontrunners to sign Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen from Napoli, it’s very possible Liverpool could hijack the deal if they don’t get their hands on any of their prime targets. The 26-year-old had a brilliant season in 2022/23 with 26 Serie A goals in just 32 games. He couldn’t match that tally the following year, however, but still bagged 15 in 25 league matches. In 2024/25, he was sent out on loan to Galatasaray, where he certainly had his scoring boots on, scoring 37 goals in 41 games in all competitions.

Marcus Rashford, Manchester United, Possible Fee: £35-40m


This is a bit of a curveball, but there have been whispers in some of the sports pages that the Reds might be considering a surprise swoop for Man United’s out-of-favour forward Marcus Rashford. Despite making his senior debut for the Red Devils back in the 2015/16 season, Rashford is still only 27 and he has plenty of years left, assuming he can rediscover his mojo.

That clearly isn’t going to happen at Old Trafford, so the question might be whether Rashford is willing to drop his ludicrously high salary in order to salvage a career that has severely stuttered. The other question, of course, is whether Slot rates the player highly enough to splash out a decent chunk of cash on the transfer fee and then his wages, which won’t be cheap even with a hefty cut. And that’s before we even get to the issue of the rarity of players moving between these rivals. This smells like paper talk.

Is It Isak at All Costs for Liverpool?

At the time of writing, the chances of Liverpool signing Isak from Newcastle look fairly slim. But if the Reds are willing to truly break the bank, with an offer of £140m or more, the Newcastle owners are sure to at least consider selling him, even if boss Howe wouldn’t be best pleased. The Reds clearly don’t want to rest on their laurels and they are ambitious to build a lasting period of success. Are they ambitious enough to get their man at any cost? Time will tell.