It’s a curious thing, football’s summer transfer market. So much goes on, rumours and shocks zipping about like so many hoofed clearances in a Sunday League match.
For Liverpool fans, the window has been not so much curious as chaotic, with Arne Slot’s side undergoing an incredible transformation after marching to last year’s Premier League title.
Trent Alexander-Arnold up and left for Real Madrid toward the end of his contract, and so Liverpool signed Jeremie Frimpong. But it is Frimpong’s Bayer Leverkusen teammate Florian Wirtz who is the Scouser’s true heir, signed on for a British-record £116m fee and heralded as “the best midfielder in the world” by former Werkself striker Patrick Helmes. Wirtz, for sure, is a world-class playmaker.
Milos Kerkez and Giorgi Mamardashvili both arrived too. And then along came Hugo Ekitike, leaving Eintracht Frankfurt for Anfield for a £69m initial fee. The 23-year-old has the potential to become one of the best strikers in the world.
But with Darwin Nunez a priority target for Al Hilal, sporting director Richard Hughes has set his focus on Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak.
Why Liverpool might not sign Alexander Isak
Oh, he’s the dream, all right. However, prising Isak away from St. James’ Park this summer will be no easy feat, even though he’s desperate to wrap up his Newcastle career and join the Reds on Merseyside.
Could Liverpool pull it off? Certainly, if Isak is to join Slot’s side this summer, it would require a fee eclipsing that which Leverkusen have chequed in for Wirtz, with Newcastle valuing him somewhere in the ballpark of £150m.
The Premier League champions have already seen a formal offer worth £110m knocked back last week, though this was likely a negotiating tactic from Hughes and FSG to unsettle a player whose heart lies in Liverpool, and who refused to travel with the Toon for their pre-season tour in Asia.
The 25-year-old has now returned to Newcastle’s training facilities and is set for face-to-face talks with Howe.
Last season, pundit Jamie Carragher called Isak “the best striker in the Premier League”, and his 27-goal contribution across Newcastle’s title-winning campaign displays merely the tip of the iceberg of a wide-ranging and expansive skill set.
He’s the dream target, and understandably so. However, Liverpool might fail; Newcastle might fail to find and sign an acceptable replacement.
Thus, an alternative has been lined up.
Liverpool target favouring move to Anfield
According to ESPN, Real Madrid’s Rodrygo has made it known to his entourage that he would prefer to sign for Liverpool this summer, should he have to depart from the Santiago Bernabeu.
Rodrygo is no longer considered one of Real Madrid’s untouchable superstars, but Los Blancos will only cash in if their valuation is met, with £78m the figure touted.
Tottenham Hotspur are also keen on Xabi Alonso’s Brazilian star, and with Heung-min Son set to sign for LAFC in the MLS, FSG will need to make a swift decision as to whether they forge ahead with a bid.
Why Liverpool should sign Rodrygo
Should Liverpool fail to sign Isak this summer, there’s a case to be made that Rodrygo could be the perfect alternative, and that’s despite him being more of a wide forward than a focal frontman.
Right winger
146
34
31
Centre-forward
84
22
8
Left winger
78
23
16
Attacking midfield
4
–
1
Hailed as “the most talented and the most gifted player” in Real Madrid’s squad by teammate Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo is renowned for his tenacious and industrious work-rate, his technical quality, and his ability to shift between multiple positions.
There’s no question that he could shift between wide and central positions in a manner not dissimilar to Luis Diaz, who last week completed a £65.5m transfer to Bayern Munich.
Diaz operated in a makeshift centre-forward berth under Slot’s guidance last term, notching eight goals and an assist from 15 fixtures in the role.
So then, we can see that Rodrygo, a goalscoring wide forward, could emulate the Colombian, whose crispness in possession is also a factor of note.
But then the same can be said of Real Madrid’s versatile forward, who ranked last season among the top 2% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues for pass completion, as per FBref.
Moreover, he missed just one big chance in La Liga last season, as per Sofascore. Albeit he only scored six times after a disappointing year. Given that Rodrygo was routinely played on the right flank, his unfavoured position, such woes are provided some important context.
This all points toward Rodrygo being the perfect, if somewhat left-field, alternative to Isak, for he could replace Diaz while providing a different dimension to Slot’s central striking area too.
Liverpool have, of course, welcomed Ekitike to the fold, and so have a new out-and-out striker to replace Nunez. The Frenchman scored 22 goals and provided 12 assists across all competitions for Frankfurt last season, and pundit Owen Hargreaves said last season that he “looks like the perfect centre-forward.”
With this in mind, losing out on Isak wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, not when FSG have succeeded in packaging Slot’s squad with such a wide array of elite-level quality.
Rodrygo is one of Real Madrid’s “world-class superstars”, so says the great Luka Modric, after all, and he’s demonstrated that he has the ability to score and to assist and to come up with big-game defining moments with regularity.
For the moment, it seems as if Liverpool will continue to push for Newcastle’s star striker, but should they fail to break the British transfer record for a second time this summer, it might be worth advancing with a deal for Rodrygo, whose qualities suggest he could become a multi-positional machine for the Anfield side as they chase down more illustrious success.