Liverpool risk blowing their Premier League title chances if they bank on landing Alexander Isak and fail, Jamie Carragher has warned.
The Anfield legend has urged the Reds to urgently consider a plan B and believes their firepower up front is too shallow.
Liverpool have already seen a bid of £110million knocked back and Newcastle have no intention of selling, but Carragher thinks an elevated fee of £130m would be excessive.
Carragher also went in hard on Isak’s ‘unacceptable refusal’ to play for Newcastle and suggested that the Swede’s achievements on Tyneside have been overblown.
Liverpool stuck four past Bournemouth on the opening night of the season, but Carragher is worried that Arne Slot only has three ‘top-class operators’ in Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitike, Cody Gakpo. That said, Federico Chiesa, Rio Ngumoha, and Jayden Danns would love to prove him wrong.
Carragher wrote in his Telegraph column: ‘Today, it is Eddie Howe’s crisis. It could be Arne Slot’s soon.
Liverpool risk blowing their Premier League title chances if they miss out on Alexander Isak and do not secure a plan B option, Jamie Carragher has claimed
They only have three ‘top-class operators’ up top in Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitike, and Cody Gakpo, Carragher believes
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‘Slot will not defend the crown with only three out-and-out attackers of Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Hugo Ekitike. They cannot carry the goalscoring burden without at least one more, preferably two, top-class operators across the front line, especially as Salah will be on Africa Cup of Nations duty in December.
‘Liverpool must be ruthless. It cannot be “Isak or no one”. Whatever their plan B is, they need to start thinking about executing it [early next week].
‘Obviously I would like to see the Swedish striker become a Liverpool player, but not at any cost, and the suggestion that the first £110m offer for Isak is ‘derisory’ is divorced from reality. If Liverpool bid more than £130m, it is too much. You would want Kylian Mbappe for the fee.
‘From the moment Isak made his debut against Liverpool at Anfield, he has stood out, but there are concerns. Now 25, he is yet to prove he has the durability of Salah. He has failed to start 36 league games over his three seasons in England and 10 of his last 44 league goals were penalties. He would not be taking them at Anfield.
‘There is absolutely no justification for Isak’s refusal to play for the club who are paying his wages. No matter how ambitious he is, or what promises he perceives to have been broken, the idea of a professional footballer being paid thousands a week and telling his employer he will not work is unacceptable. The lack of self-awareness of anyone acting like this is beyond my comprehension.’
As things stands, Newcastle do not look like budging. They would ideally want two quality strikers through the door before selling Isak.
They submitted an improved offer of £40m for Brentford’s Yoane Wissa on Wednesday but that was rebuffed within a couple of hours.
Isak missed Newcastle’s season opener against Aston Villa – a 0-0 draw where they bled dry of end product – and has not even been training with his team-mates.
He suggests that Isak has relied on penalties to boost his scoring numbers and that he has not proven his longevity
For £130million, Liverpool should expect to be signing somebody of Kylian Mbappe’s ilk, says Carragher
The Liverpool legend says there is ‘no justification’ for Isak’s refusal to play for Newcastle
Liverpool and Arne Slot began their title defence with a 4-2 win over Bournemouth at Anfield
Liverpool have consistently hit the mark with their transfers – they are anything but blinkered under sporting director Richard Hughes – but Carragher’s concerns hold weight.
The Premier League champions have scarcely been linked with another attacker this summer and could find themselves with ground to make up if they move late for another.
In a bombshell statement on Tuesday night, Isak accused Newcastle of ‘broken promises,’ an accusation which Toon dismissed and one which has made them double down on keeping him.
But Daily Mail Sport revealed what that could be in the latest edition of our Liverpool Confidential column, which you can read here.
