Arne Slot head coach of Liverpool during a training at AXA Training Centre on May 16, 2025 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)placeholder image
Arne Slot head coach of Liverpool during a training at AXA Training Centre on May 16, 2025 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images) | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Liverpool are on the hunt for a new striker and could an elaborate swap deal see them land their top target?
Recent transfer windows have been relatively quiet with no real shocks or clubs spending particularly big apart from the usual suspects with Liverpool set to buck a recent trend of their own.
A £200m transfer budget is already all but spent, however, there are ways and means for Arne Slot to get his targets and the Reds might have to be creative to land the players that they want.
The advent of PSR has seen clubs need to be more careful with how they spend their money and there have been incidents of clubs taking part in virtual swap deals with questionable transfer fees mentioned to bend the rules.
Could Liverpool entertain treble swoop to land Alexander Isak?
Liverpool want a striker and Newcastle would need to replace Isak if he leaves, they also have other areas of their team that they would like to strengthen. Why not ask if they would take not one but two members of Slot’s squad to soften the blow of losing their best player?
What it would also do, is solve a problem that both Eddie Howe and Bruno Guimaraes raised via ESPN after qualifying for the Champions League once again. When asked how many players that he would need to add, Howe said: "Difficult to say on numbers, but I do think it's a window that we have to be active in and I'm sure we will be.
“We haven't recruited strongly in three windows and I think eventually, that can catch up with you in the end if you continue not to change because change is an important part of the squad dynamic.
"I think we feel that and I think we potentially felt that last summer as well, so I think that's why the players have done so well to carry the success through. Yes, it is going to be a big transfer window."
Even Howe’s skipper Guimaraes also knows that the Toon are light on bodies: "We have improved a lot, but I think we're not at the level that I want. I think for next season, we are going to need more players to be honest with you because I think the squad is a little bit short.
"We have seen it last year when we played in the Champions League, we lost some players for injury and then it was busy for us. I think we can improve our level because next year, our season will have one more competition."
Who could Liverpool move on in deal that would benefit everyone?
Losing one good player and replacing him with two might be an attractive option for Howe, especially if they are two proven Premier League players with one of them helping Newcastle to tick UEFA’s home-grown quota box too.
What Howe would love, is more depth in his midfield. His first-choice trio of Bruno, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton is as good as any in the league, however, the quality drops when any of them are missing. After the arrival of Florian Wirtz, Harvey Elliot’s game time might be restricted and Premier League clubs are already considering offers in the region of £40m for the England international’s services.
The other player who Howe would probably love to have at his disposal given the image of his Newcastle team is Darwin Nunez, a player whose time at Anfield seems over and who needs a fresh start to rediscover his best form.
Given the way that Howe has re-energised players like Joelinton and Jacob Murphy, it isn’t unreasonable to think that he could get a tune out of Nunez too. Between the two players, Newcastle’s £150m valuation of Isak wouldn’t be far away from being met and both clubs could be stronger as a result.
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