Liverpool have perhaps rested on their laurels in recent transfer windows, with Federico Chiesa the only first-team signing made since Jurgen Klopp completed a much-needed midfield rebuild with the signing of Ryan Gravenberch in August 2023.
That’s going to change this summer. Arne Slot has surpassed expectations and then some in guiding Liverpool toward the Premier League.
Sure, sure, the Reds haven’t won it yet, but they need just one point from five matches to seal the highest place on the podium. It would take the most remarkable of slip-ups to fall now.
The fact that Slot has engineered the triumph without putting his own stamp on the Anfield side bears testament to his elite-level tactical quality. To be sure, title rivals have faltered this year, but Liverpool have still been brilliant in their consistency, their balance.
Now, it’s time to add some quality, and with Darwin Nunez set to leave, a new striker is needed. Alexander Isak is the dream.
Why Liverpool want Alexander Isak
Short answer? Isak is absolutely brilliant, one of the most dangerous attacking players in the world.
Analysis of the longer form identifies a wealth of varied properties that make the Sweden international a matchless number nine across Europe right now.
Erling Haaland has goalscoring inevitability, Kylian Mbappe the pace and movement, Harry Kane the leadership and passing game, but there’s a case to be made that the Magpies talisman offers the most dynamic and balanced approach of the lot, when considering every facet of the centre-forward game.
As per FBref, the 25-year-old ranks among the top 7% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 15% for assists, the top 14% for shot-creating actions, the top 13% for progressive passes, the top 7% for progressive carries and the top 6% for successful take-ons per 90.
A successful take-on is recorded when a player beats their opponent by directly carrying the ball past them while retaining possession.
Isak’s completeness sets him apart from other strikers, those performing at the top of their game, but his deadly goalscoring ability is, of course, the essence of why FSG would love nothing more than to add him to Slot’s squad.
With 25 goals and six assists across 38 matches in all competitions this season, Isak is clearly one of the best. Liverpool would only improve with the rangy forward in their mix.
Whether Newcastle stay firm on their £150m (or even higher) valuation will determine whether FSG green-light a summer move. But his output bespeaks his quality. Few players are capable of matching such a haul.
Mohamed Salah would be one who surpasses Isak’s numbers, but there’s an ageing former Redman who’s also treading above Isak’s numerical level.
Who that is may come as a surprise.
The former Liverpool star outperforming Isak
He might be getting on a bit, but Xherdan Shaqiri still has that special something that makes him such a menace in and around the final third.
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The 33-year-old hasn’t been on Liverpool’s books for a minute, leaving to sign for French Ligue 1 outfit Lyon in a £9.5m deal back in 2021, having fallen down Klopp’s pecking order due to the quality of Liverpool’s other forwards and Shaqiri’s unfortunate injury struggles.
Diminutive in stature, Shaqiri was small but mighty in Liverpool colours, and though he’s since hopped over the pond and played with Chicago Fire in the MLS, he’s returned to Europe, signed for Basel, back on Swiss territory.
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Shaqiri – Liverpool Stats by Season (all comps) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Apps (starts) |
Goals |
Assists |
|
20/21 |
22 (7) |
1 |
4 |
|
19/20 |
11 (2) |
1 |
0 |
|
18/19 |
30 (15) |
6 |
5 |
|
Stats via Transfermarkt |
|||
That first season on Merseyside bred the richest success for Shaqiri on an individual level, instrumental in winning the Champions League as he placed two assists during that match against Barcelona.
He’s proven himself among his generation’s most technically gifted playmakers, now targeting a storybook ending as he drives Basel toward the Swiss top-flight title.
He’s thriving. Shaqiri – who Klopp dubbed a “very special player” – has scored 16 goals and supplied 18 further assists for Bebbi this season, having only featured in 32 matches across all competitions.
This high-stretching haul of 34 goal involvements is above even that of Isak, who is, of course, playing at a higher level. Still, it highlights Shaqiri’s quality, having won the Champions League with Bayern Munich before Liverpool, becoming a talisman at Stoke City, thrived with Inter Milan, earned praise for his overhead-kick-scoring Reds debut by Klopp.
He boasts the kind of profile that could be perfect for Isak, should the latter man make the move and join Slot’s project this summer. As per Sofascore, Shaqiri has only missed two big chances in the league this year, scoring 14 times. He’s also created a whopping 24 big chances, averaging 3.5 key passes per game.
You could argue that Dominik Szoboszlai could take a leaf from his book, for the Hungarian midfielder needs to up his game in front of goal to truly maximise his talent, especially when a positional peer such as Shaqiri is capable of matching Isak’s attacking numbers.
Though Shaqiri’s best days are behind him, it’s heartwarming to see him enjoying such prolific success back in his homeland as he approaches the twilight of an illustrious career.
The very fact that he’s outperforming Isak, who has been described as “the best striker in the Premier League” this season by Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher, issues a nice reminder that he’s one of the most underrated stars of Liverpool’s journey over the past decade.
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