The biggest transfer of the ongoing off-season transfer window recently wrapped up when Arsenal landed Viktor Gyökeres for just under €66 million. The Swedish striker, who has signed a five-year contract with the Gunners, is Arsenal’s biggest signing since bringing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the Emirates Stadium in January 2018.
However, by the time the transfer window wraps up, Arsenal’s pursuit and signing of Gyökeres might not even end up being the standout transfer involving a Swedish striker signing for a Premier League club. Newcastle United centre-forward Alexander Isak has indicated that he has intentions to leave St James’ Park; as of right now it appears most likely that Isak will eventually sign for Liverpool.
Two seasons ago, Isak had his breakout campaign at Newcastle, scoring 21 goals and establishing himself as a genuine superstar around whom an elite attack could be built, thus fulfilling the immense potential he showed in his younger days which led Borussia Dortmund to sign him at just the age of 17. However, the reality is that the Magpies simply don’t have the kind of pull which would attract other top players despite their immense wealth bankrolled by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. As such, if Isak is to be on a team which will seriously contend for titles on a perennial basis, he’ll almost certainly have to leave Tyneside.
If Isak does indeed join the reigning Premier League champions, he might just be the final piece to what would be undeniably the most formidable attacking line in world football. Having already added Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike to play alongside club legend Mohamed Salah, Liverpool’s potential addition of Isak would not only make the Reds the overwhelming favourites to win back-to-back league titles for the first time since the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons; it would also place them as arguably the favorites to win the Champions League for the seventh time in club history.
Over the past few years, Liverpool haven’t spent all that much on new signings; however, the Merseysiders’ heavy spending in this transfer window has shown that all along they were waiting for just the right opportunity to step in and pour out the big money to bring their dream signings to Anfield. In this transfer window, Liverpool have already spent over €300 million on five players (as well as one free transfer) including Wirtz, Ekitike, and Jeremie Frimpong. As such, even though Newcastle are currently insisting on £150 million - a fee which would be the third-most expensive ever and frankly a significant overpay - Liverpool might nonetheless make the move if for no other reason that players of Isak’s calibre don’t often emerge as prime transfer candidates like this.
At the end of the 2023-24 season, Jürgen Klopp left the Anfield dugout having unquestionably solidified his position as one of the greatest coaches of all time after a legendary nine-year stint at Liverpool. Following Klopp’s departure and the arrival of his replacement Arne Slot, most Liverpool fans anticipated what seemed to be an inevitable step backwards in the upcoming season.
Instead, Liverpool’s first season of the Slot era turned out to be far more successful than anything which the vast majority of their fans could have imagined, at least as far as the league was concerned. Liverpool won the league without much serious competition, finishing ahead of second-placed Arsenal by a 10-point margin. On top of that, Salah finished the season as the league’s leading goalscorer for the fourth time in his career.
The major blemish on their season, however, came in the Champions League. Liverpool were knocked out in the round of 16, losing to eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain in a penalty shootout. Based on everything they’ve been doing in this transfer window, it’s obvious that this is something which Liverpool are taking very seriously. Liverpool have only advanced beyond the Champions League quarterfinals once over the past six seasons; however, with what they’ve already done transfer-wise, this statistic is more likely to change this upcoming season than not.
The signing of Alexander Isak by Liverpool, if it does happen, would not only be the highlight of this off-season; it might just be the final piece to complete what would, at least on paper, be a team for the ages.
No comments:
Post a Comment