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Newcastle United are hoping to sign Hugo Ekitike and keep Alexander Isak but Liverpool are also interested in the pair.
Liverpool are ‘toying’ with the idea of signing both Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike, it has been claimed,
German newspaper BILD suggests that the Reds are open to splashing the cash on the pair - which would be in the region of £200 million.
Liverpool are in the market for a new centre-forward despite comfortably winning the Premier League title last season. Despite their triumph, the number-nine position proved somewhat problematic.
There have been plenty of twists in recent days. The Reds have been linked with Ekitike, who scored 22 goals for Eintracht Frankfurt last season, throughout the summer transfer period. Frankfurt are reluctant to sell their talisman after qualifying for the Champions League.
Isak, however, has always been the No.1 target if there is a chance of a deal being brokered with Newcastle United. The Sweden international netted 27 times in the 2024-25 season, including in the Magpies’ 2-1 win over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley, which ended the club’s 70-year wait for a major trophy.
The stance from Newcastle has been that they will be reluctant to sell and are hoping to give Isak a new contract that would make him the highest-paid player in St James’ Park history.
Therefore, it proved intriguing that Newcastle launched a salvo to sign Ekitike earlier this week despite having Isak as their first choice. It’s been reported that the Magpies want Ekitike to play alongside Isak in the 2025-26 season.
But on Tuesday, Liverpool made an approach to Newcastle for Isak to communicate they’d be interested in signing him for around £120 million. That would see the Reds break their transfer record for a second time this summer, having splashed out £100 million for Florian Wirtz.
However, BILD claims that Arne Slot’s men could recruit both. The German newspaper suggests that Ekitike is open to a move to Liverpool although Frankfurt are still holding out for their price tag of £85 million.
Will Liverpool sign Isak and Ekitike?
In truth, it seems unlikely. The more probable outcome is that the Reds might sign one or the other.
Newcastle are steadfast that they don’t want to sell Isak but the fact that Liverpool have made an approach suggests they have had some encouragement from the player’s camp that he’d be open to a move to Anfield.
And if the Magpies do keep Isak, there is still a chance that he could depart in a year’s time. At that stage, they may not be able to land Ekitike, especially if he were to join Liverpool. Ekitike has been a long-standing target for Toon boss Eddie Howe, having failed to sign the France under-21 international three years ago when he left Reims to join Paris Saint-Germain.
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