Liverpool continue to be linked with a move for Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, although confidence does seem to be fading at last.
Newcastle are in no rush to let their star striker leave the club, and after being especially frugal in the last three transfer windows, are finally in a good enough place with PSR that talks of losing their biggest stars can be easily swept aside.
That hasn't stopped the speculation, of course, with stories appearing every day containing some mind-boggling mental gymnastics by writers trying to find a way to make the move a reality.
Now a former Liverpool insider, Ian Graham, who was director of research under Jurgen Klopp has told the Financial Times that the Reds actually passed on the opportunity to sign Alexander Isak three years ago.
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Mistake!
Jurgen Klopp 'preferred' Darwin Nunez to Alexander Isak - oops!
In the summer when Newcastle shattered their transfer record to bring in Alexander Isak for £63 million, Ian Graham says that Jurgen Klopp wanted to sign Darwin Nunez instead of Isak, ultimately signing the striker for a club-record £85 million.
“Jurgen preferred Nunez.
“Jurgen created a lot of success for the club, so it’s understandable why it moved in that direction.
“I’m happy to talk about my colleagues persuading Jurgen [in 2017] that Mo Salah was the player to buy instead of Julian Brandt.”
“And in 2022, he signed Darwin Nunez [for £70m plus add-ons] instead of Alexander Isak.”
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Alexander Isak proved to be a much better signing all-round than Darwin Nunez
It is probably safe to say that one of those signings was significantly more successful than the other, and we shouldn't need to point out which, but we will anyway ... it was Alexander Isak.
Some Reds fans are still convinced that once they shift Darwin Nunez, they will make a bid for Isak, but with Newcastle not even willing to answer the phone to any club who isn't prepared to start negotiations at £150 million, there's little chance of a deal being done.
It seems the Mighty Jurgen Klopp wasn't infallible after all. Someone should tell Sky Sports.