Liverpool know EXACTLY what it will take to sign Alexander Isak

Liverpool need a new striker as it has become abundantly clear that neither Diogo Jota nor Darwin Nunez are reliable assets in front of goal anymore.

In Jota's case, the Portuguese international was at one point the Reds most clinical striker, who could often be relied on to get the team out of trouble, be it through starting games or appearing off the bench.

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However, five years after he moved to Merseyside, his fitness issues have caught up to him and he has become increasingly absent and ineffective while wearing the red shirt.

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Meanwhile, with Nunez, his time with Liverpool can only really be looked at as underwhelming, after joining the club three seasons ago for a whopping £85m transfer fee.

He simply has not been able to live up to people's expectations for him, although occasionally he can be accused of failing to even put in the bare minimum on the pitch, so fans want the club to cut their losses.

As such, one of the primary targets for this transfer window is a new forward and the club's ideal candidate could not be more obvious.

Liverpool have Isak firmly in their sights

Alexander Isak, the 25-year-old Swedish striker who is on everyone's minds.

Beyond Harry Kane at Bayern Munich, who is now into his 30s, Kylian Mbappe, who has only just moved to Real Madrid, and Erling Haaland, who has recently signed a nine-year contract with Manchester City, there is no one out there on the transfer market that is better than Isak.

The Newcastle frontman has 23 goals and five assists this season and Liverpool are huge admirers of him.

However, the Magpies are going to be very difficult to negotiate with given how important the striker is to their team and their plans going forward, although when big sums of money are put down on the table, loyalties can be put aside.

According to TBR Football, the two main parties interested are Liverpool and Arsenal, coincidentally the two teams who have battled for the Premier League title this season, although the Reds are almost certain to come out on top in that race come May.

Mikel Arteta's Gunners have been blunted in attack this season, not least because of injuries to Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus, but since they are likely to finish runners-up in the league for a third straight year, it is clear that they need a striker to get across the line.

Whereas at Liverpool, the attacking numbers have been there, although there is a concrete understanding that Mohamed Salah is the sole reason why Liverpool have been able to compete throughout this campaign - the Egyptian has 32 goals and 22 assists in 43 matches.

As such, a striker is absolutely fundamental to any future success the Reds might be looking forward to, because a generational season like Salah's is inevitably going to be a one-off.

The latest report claims that 'Liverpool are open to breaking the club's transfer record to bring Isak to Anfield' as 'the Swede is the club's number one priority' and 'they back themselves to defeat Arsenal in a shoot-out to sign him'.

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Of course, FSG will need to put their money where their mouth is in order to pull off the ambitious transfer, and I'm sure Liverpool will believe it when they see it, but for the time being it seems as though there is reason to be cautiously optimistic.

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