The THREE players Liverpool will sign instead of Alexander Isak

Liverpool famously chased Moises Caicedo throughout the summer 2023 transfer window before the midfielder ended up at Chelsea.

The deal cost the Blues over £100 million and it’s fair to say the Ecuador international hasn’t pulled up any trees since.

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Instead of it all going on one player, Liverpool spread that summer’s transfer budget around, completely rearranging their midfield into the soon-to-be Premier League title winners they are today.

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Alexis Mac Allister came in from Brighton for £35m. For a similar fee, Ryan Gravenberch was acquired from Bayern Munich. Dominik Szoboszlai was more expensive - at £60m - when he signed from RB Leipzig.

And there is no question that the Reds have got value from their £16.2m deal for Wataru Endo.

That’s about £150m worth of transfers right there and today the likes of Mac Allister and Gravenberch might well fetch very close to that sum on their own in the transfer market such has been their success.

Liverpool won't pay £150m for Isak

Ahead of this summer, Liverpool have been told that they must pay £150m or more for the Newcastle striker Alexander Isak.

However, like in 2023, the best thing Liverpool can do is to ignore a single deal of that magnitude and go for a restock in several other positions instead.

“There is no suggestion that Newcastle are willing to sell and that prospect seems more unlikely should they grasp one of the five places now available as a gateway to the Champions League,” writes Paul Joyce in the Times.

“Imagine for a moment, though, that they were open to a deal. If the valuation of Isak is £150million, then there is little to suggest Liverpool would go to that level for one player.”

Kerkez, Huijsen and a forward for £150m

The club are known to be interested in Milos Kerkez of Bournemouth. He would cost around £45m if he moves this summer. There is a £50m release clause in the contract of Cherries’ teammate Dean Huijsen.

So that’s £95m for the pair, with £55m left over to spend on a striker before the £150m Isak threshold is reached.

And who’s available for that price?

Granted, it’s unlikely that Hugo Ekitike could be summoned from Eintracht Frankfurt for less than around £87m these days. But perhaps his mooted replacement - Jonathan Burkardt - could be signed instead with the Reds among interested parties.

The £85m release clause in Mohammed Kudus’ contract should be seen as the maximum West Ham might get for him this summer rather than the minimum given his ordinary season in front of goal.

Matheus Cunha of Wolves has got a clause of £62.5m in his latest deal and there’s no doubting that value in today’s market.

And perhaps the most appealing price of all would be the £50m to £55m Brentford are expecting for Bryan Mbeumo. The 25-year-old Cameroonian has scored an incredible 18 goals and added six assists for the Bees this season.

He is the best candidate to eventually replace Salah and could fill in as a support striker or a No9 in the meantime.

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So, Isak for £150m or else Kerkez, Huijsen and Mbeumo for £150m instead? I know which one sounds like the best value. Over to you Richard Hughes.