Alexander Isak: What would Newcastle forward bring to Liverpool?
Will Jackson 
Alexander Isak looks increasingly likely to leave Newcastle and join Liverpool this summer after the Premier League champions made an official approach for the striker.
Isak has established himself as one of the top performers in the Premier League over the past couple of seasons, leading the line for Newcastle with 23 goals last season.
He helped them secure Champions League football for the upcoming season but is now 6/5 with some sports betting sites to play for Liverpool next season after they made a move to strengthen their attack this week.
There is plenty to like about the Swedish international, and Free Bets have had a closer look at exactly what he will bring to the champions.
Goals, Goals, Goals
When we're talking about number nines, the first and most important factor to consider is - will they score goals?
Liverpool have leaned very heavily on Mohamed Salah for a long time now, and even though he is playing better than ever at the moment - he scored 29 goals and contributed 18 assists in the league alone last year - that form and the reliance on him is surely not sustainable.
In the past under Jurgen Klopp the Reds had multiple goal threats with Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane completing a formidable trio up front, but the move to bring in Darwin Nunez has not had the desired effect with the goalscoring burden increasingly falling on Salah.
Luis Diaz - who is rumoured to want a move away from Anfield - made double figures last season along with Cody Gakpo, but there was a real lack of goals coming from the man, Nunez, often tasked with leading the line.
By bringing in Isak - who will start the season as third favourite with bet365 to claim the golden boot next season - they will guarantee goals, with the Newcastle man notching 54 Premier League goals in 86 appearances to date.
That's 23 goals last season and 21 the year before and goals of all types, whether it's through poaching from close range, running in behind or solo efforts from well out, Isak has it all and is a natural in front of goal to ease the workload and reliance on Salah.
A Focal Point
Three years into his Liverpool career, it can't be denied that Darwin Nunez has been an expensive failure at Anfield.
Yes he was part of a squad that won the Premier League last season, but the £64 million paid in 2022 would have expected a greater return than just 25 Premier League goals in 95 appearances in that time.
And it's not just the goals to game ratio that Nunez fails on - Isak by comparison has scored more goals in fewer games - it's the eye test too, with his wild and raw approach to the game resulting in a real unpredictability that can prove costly at the top level.
The potential package with Nunez remains appealing - he is fast, direct and strong - but they cannot wait for him to deliver on that potential much longer, and in Isak they would be getting someone who is already the complete package.
The Swede is the complete striker, capable of leading the line through the middle as well as dropping deep to link up play, running in behind and scoring all types of goals.
His presence would allow Salah to drift around the pitch and cause stick to what he is really good at, as well as providing another huge attacking threat that opposition defenders would have to take seriously, he would also be an ideal striker for attacking midfielders such as Florian Wirtz to play off in a forward-thinking Arne Slot side
All-Round Excellence
The beauty of Isak is that he really is the complete striker.
Whereas someone like Erling Haaland might influence a side to play in a certain way, Isak is a much more rounded striker who is capable of fitting pretty much any tactical system due to his superb all-round attributes.
His brilliant form for Newcastle over the past couple of seasons has come from playing as the main man through the middle, but before that he tended to drift out to the left and run directly at players.
It is the highest compliment you can give to someone to compare them to Thierry Henry, but Isak at his best does inevitably draw such comparisons, making it a dream for managers and is why he will feature in so many pre-season football betting tips.
No matter how much Liverpool are willing to spend on Isak, Salah will still be the main man at Anfield next season so it will be crucial for the two to gel, but you can only see it going well given the all-round game the Swede possesses.
Someone like Nunez doesn't have the deft touches required to link up with Salah regularly, while the other best striker in the league - Haaland - isn't quite as subtle with the ball at his feet either.
Isak could just as easily take someone on and go for goal himself as he could drop deep and look for the ball through to a running Salah, such is his technical excellence, so it's no wonder we're talking about £120 million plus for his services.
Crucially, he would allow Slot some flexibility with his line-ups as they look to make a bigger impact in the Champions League this season rather than stick rigidly to the - admittedly successful - 4-3-3 the club has favoured in recent years.
£120m - Worth It?
Isak brings the whole package to the table, so it is no surprise that Newcastle would ask for something well in excess of £100m and would want to at least double the £63m they paid for him in August 2022.
However given that Newcastle have Champions League football next season and are not exactly strapped for cash - their PSR position isn't totally desperate either - they are in no rush to sell, and are likely to push the price up further if they are to entertain any interest in their prized asset.
Diaz has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich but Liverpool have insisted on a nine-figure sum for the Colombian, and most people would argue that Isak is worth significantly more than the £100m touted for Diaz - and are Liverpool really likely to go up to £150m?
Hugo Ekitike is a more realistic alternative - someone Newcastle have also lined up to either play alongside Isak or replace him - and would cost significantly less, and while he might not bring the proven qualities that Isak would, he is of a similar profile that should improve this Liverpool side.
Liverpool are already favourites in football betting markets to win the Premier League in the 2025/26 season, bringing in Isak would only shorten those odds.
