Liverpool struck gold with “world-class” star who was even better than Isak

Liverpool are back in action on Sunday as they prepare to take on Premier League rivals Newcastle United at Wembley in the final of the League Cup.

Arne Slot‘s side were knocked out of the Champions League on penalties by Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night, and were knocked out of the FA Cup by Plymouth Argyle last month.

This means that this clash with the Magpies in the capital is the club’s last chance to add a cup trophy on top of what seems like an inevitable Premier League title success.

Liverpool made the final of this competition by beating Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 in the second leg of their semi-final clash with Ange Postecoglou’s side.

They now face an excellent Newcastle team, managed by Eddie Howe, but are boosted by the Magpies missing Sven Botman, Anthony Gordon, and Lewis Hall.

Despite those key players being out, the Toon Army are a dangerous side to play against because they have Alexander Isak in the centre-forward position.

Why Liverpool should fear Alexander Isak

Liverpool should be wary of the Sweden international’s threat on Sunday because he has proven himself to be a lethal number nine for the Magpies in recent seasons.

The 25-year-old marksman joined Newcastle from Real Sociedad in the summer of 2022 and has scored 57 goals in 99 appearances for the club to date.

Isak has, therefore, averaged more than a goal every other game for the Magpies during his career in England to date, which speaks to the threat he offers at the top end of the pitch.

The Swedish star has proven himself to be one of the best forwards in Europe with his ability to find the back of the net on a consistent basis, whilst also being a creative presence for his side.

As you can see in the table above, Isak ranks incredibly highly among strikers in the top leagues in Europe in a host of key attacking metrics, which illustrates just how effective he has been for Newcastle over the last 365 days.

The Magpies star has scored 19 goals from 15.55 xG in the Premier League so far this season, a tally only Erling Haaland (20) and Mo Salah (27) have beaten.

Therefore, Liverpool should fear Isak and be very wary of his potential threat when they come to face Newcastle in the League Cup final on Sunday, and they will be very aware of him given that the club have a reported interest in signing the forward.

Liverpool’s interest in Alexander Isak

CaughtOffside reports

that the Reds are interested in bringing the former Borussia Dortmund marksman to Anfield in the upcoming summer transfer window.

The report adds that Liverpool are also keen on his teammates Gordon and Hall, who will not be available for the League Cup final, as the club plot moves to bolster their squad ahead of next season.

However, The Athletic’s David Ornstein recently revealed that it could take a fee of around £150m to convince the Magpies to part ways with Isak, and that would be a club-record deal for Liverpool.

It now remains to be seen whether or not the Reds are prepared to splash the cash and smash records to bring the Swedish sensation to Anfield to improve Slot’s attacking options in the summer, as £150m is an incredibly significant amount of money to pay.

Liverpool have, instead, had success in the past with signing strikers for relatively modest fees and untapping their potential, rather than buying the finished product straight away.

Former Reds icon Luis Suarez is a great example of that as they hit the jackpot when they snapped him up from Ajax, before he proved himself in Europe’s major leagues.

Liverpool hit the jackpot with Luis Suarez

In the January transfer window of the 2010/11 campaign, Liverpool swooped to sign Suarez from the Dutch giants for a reported fee of just £22.8m – less than 20% of what Isak would cost in the present day.

That turned out to be an absolute bargain of a fee for the club because the Uruguay international, who had scored 111 goals in 159 matches for Ajax, went on to become a superstar on Merseyside.

Suarez, as you can see in the clips above, was capable of the spectacular during his time at Anfield, as he got supporters off their feet with his weekly displays of magic in the final third.

The prolific forward went on to score 82 goals and provide 31 assists in 133 matches for Liverpool in all competitions, before Barcelona came calling in the summer of 2014.

Suarez joined the Spanish giants for a reported fee of £75m ahead of the 2014/15 campaign, which meant that the Reds made a huge profit on the £22.8m they paid for him – showing that they hit the jackpot by signing him from Ajax for such a modest fee.

The mercurial forward, who was called “world-class” by Brendan Rodgers, then went on to enjoy a stunning spell at the Nou Camp, scoring 195 goals and providing 113 assists in 283 games, and has – to date – had an even better career than Isak.

As you can see in the table above, Suarez has had a 40-goal, with 56 total goal involvements, season in one of Europe’s major leagues in his career.

In total, the striker has hit 20 or more goals on six occasions in LaLiga or the Premier League for Liverpool, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid combined. Whereas, Isak – who turns 26 this year – only has one such season in his career and has yet to score more than 21 goals in a single league campaign at first-team level.

This shows that the Swedish forward has not had a career as good as Suarez’s, yet, as he has not been anywhere near as prolific on the biggest stages, and that is why a fee of £150m for him may be a bit over the top at this moment in time.

Liverpool may be better off trying to unearth another diamond, as they did with the Uruguay international, instead of smashing their club-record transfer fee to land the Newcastle man.