Liverpool struck gold on “world-class” star who’s worth more than Isak

It’s fair to say Liverpool have been unbelievable under Arne Slot this season, but it’s also fair to say recent performances have left plenty to be desired.

The Reds got the job done against Southampton at the weekend and snatched the most unlikely first-leg Champions League victory against Paris Saint-Germain days before, having absorbed heavy and sustained shellfire before Harvey Elliott’s last-gasp winner.

There’s a deep-rooted winning spirit about this Liverpool team, propelling them toward greatness. However, Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes will know Anfield could evolve into an even more powerful state with some well-placed transfer signings this summer.

Barring a shocking collapse, Liverpool are set to lift the Premier League title in the first season since Jurgen Klopp called it a day, and all without any real first-team investment.

Federico Chiesa was signed from Juventus for £12.5m, but his contribution has been nominal.

Though Darwin Nunez has rediscovered his touch in the final third over the past week, he’s fluctuated too greatly across his three years on Merseyside. Is it any wonder FSG are intrigued by the prospect of signing Alexander Isak this summer?

Liverpool’s pursuit of Alexander Isak

Back in December, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher described Isak as “the best striker in the Premier League.”

With 22 goals from 31 matches in all competitions this season, you can see why he’d make that claim, not least because the Sweden international has 15 from his last 13 in the top flight.

You can also see why Liverpool – and Arsenal, for that matter – have a vested interest in bagging his signature this summer. The 25-year-old is contracted at St. James’ Park until 2028 but appears to have rejected an offer of a new long-term deal. Cards are on the table, especially with Newcastle currently sat in eighth, albeit just three points away from Manchester City in the top four.

This is all just speculation, but The Athletic’s David Ornstein has given it his stamp of authority, confirming Liverpool’s interest along with Arsenal’s too.

It must be stressed that Newcastle are under little pressure to sell their £120k-per-week superstar and have responded to rumours by slapping a £150m price tag on him.

This is an extraordinary amount of money, more in fact than the ludicrous £142m figure Liverpool received when Barcelona signed Philippe Coutinho in 2018.

FSG get a lot of stick for ruling with stringent monetary parameters, but there was actually a time when an even prettier penny was rejected for one of Klopp’s troops.

Liverpool struck gold on “world-class” star

Slot has inherited an almighty Liverpool side, and though Virgil van Dijk is a matchless leader, Alisson Becker an awe-inspiring shot-stopper, Trent Alexander-Arnold a creative genius, there is one man above all others who has made the 2024/25 campaign his own.

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You know who. Mohamed Salah has been the unstoppable driving force at the front of Slot’s project, audaciously scoring 32 goals from 41 appearances in all competitions, adding 22 assists too.

He’s miles ahead of Erling Haaland, Isak, and the rest, surely a shoo-in to win the Premier League Player of the Season for the second time in his career, levelling with the record holders: Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Kevin De Bruyne and Nemanja Vidic.

He might be the hottest product in the Premier League right now, but in fact Salah’s greatness spans nine years on Merseyside, dubbed an “all-time great” by his former boss Klopp.

Salah is Liverpool’s third-highest goalscorer in history with 243 strikes. The Egypt international is also level in fifth with Sergio Aguero in the Premier League’s all-time scoring charts (184 goals). It’s no surprise he’s been described as an indisputable “world-class” player by Manchester United legend Roy Keane.

So many records have been broken by the £350k-per-week sensation’s feet, but that wouldn’t have been so had he left Anfield when the Saudi Pro League came calling in August 2023.

Indeed, with Hulf football really taking off several years ago, Salah was earmarked as the potential poster boy of Saudi football after Al-Nassr signed Ronaldo from Manchester United.

it felt like there was a growing acceptance across Liverpool circles that Salah would be off, that the abundant riches would hold sway. However, FSG – to their credit – stood firm and rejected the jaw-dropping £150m bid lodged as they felt it would be to the detriment of Liverpool’s rebuild after a tough 2022/23 campaign.

Sky Sports reported Al-Ittihad’s desire was so strong that they were willing to raise their bid to £200m, which would have put Salah in the same ballpark as Neymar Jr., who remains the most expensive footballer of all time after leaving Barcelona for PSG for about £200m in August 2017.

This, of course, is above Newcastle’s valuation of Isak and rightly so. No one could have blamed FSG for taking such an exorbitant figure and using it to reinvest into the Liverpool first team, but Salah is proving that quality and impact isn’t always quantifiable, and that his value is perfectly illustrated by his performances on the pitch.

Now, he’s out of contract at the end of the season and approaching his 33rd birthday, but Salah is still one of the best players in the world, perhaps even set to win the Ballon d’Or after such staggering success under Slot’s wing.

Should Liverpool succeed in tying their all-time superstar down to a new deal, it doesn’t feel likely that they’ll be attracting offers in the £200m ballpark, but the fact he’s almost 33 and still outstripping perhaps every forward kicking a football today highlights the gift that fans have been given in watching this Egyptian talent play under the Anfield lights.

Isak would be an amazing addition for the future, but Salah is still very much the present, and long may that continue.