Liverpool ‘will try to tempt’ Newcastle with £85m star in swap ‘offer’ for Alexander Isak
Liverpool are planning to offer Darwin Nunez in exchange for Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak in the summer, according to reports.
The Reds are having a brilliant first season under Arne Slot with Liverpool currently seven points clear of second-placed Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.
Slot, who also guided the Reds to top of the Champions League group stage, could hardly of wished for a better start as Liverpool manager after leaving Feyenoord in the summer to succeed legendary boss Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool have had the slightest wobble in recent weeks with Slot’s side losing 1-0 to Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup before being held to draw in the Merseyside Derby against Everton last week.
However, the Reds bounced back with a 2-1 win over Wolves in the Premier League over the weekend, although they were far from their best with Wolves unlucky to be the losing side.
Slot could lose Mohamed Salah in the summer on a free transfer with the Dutchman potentially left looking to replace the 32-year-old’s 23 goals and 14 assists in the Premier League so far this term.
Uruguay international Nunez has not lived up to his £85m price tag with Slot only trusting the striker with seven Premier League starts this term.
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And now Football Insider claims that Liverpool ‘will try to tempt’ Newcastle in the summer ‘by offering’ Nunez as a makeweight in any deal to sign Isak, who is also attracting interest from Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona.
The report adds that Liverpool boss Slot ‘is not convinced by Nunez or Diogo Jota and is keen to improve his striking options in the off-season’.
Although Newcastle have no intention of selling the Sweden international, reports claim there is a ‘verbal agreement’ to allow Isak to pursue a move away from St James’ Park if the Magpies don’t qualify for the Champions League this season.
Football Insider continues:
‘Newcastle want well in excess of £100million for Isak but sources say Liverpool will look to sweeten the deal by including Nunez in a player-plus-cash offer.
‘The Uruguay international, 25, is valued at around £60million by the Anfield club.’
Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara has been extremely impressed by Isak this season and has likened the Swede to Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.
O’Hara told Grosvenor Sport: “Gabriel and William Saliba could not deal with Alexander Isak at all on Wednesday – he had them rattled. Arsenal were all over the place. That is the first time I’ve ever seen them like that and they’re probably the best defensive partnership in the world now, which just shows how good Isak is.
“There are shades of Thierry Henry about him – he’s so sharp playing of the shoulder of the centre back and he’s so deadly in front of goal. He’s exactly the type of player that Arsenal were missing yesterday and he’s undoubtedly one of the best strikers in the world.”
