Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has declared that his old club should walk away from a ‘messy’ £150m transfer deal to sign Alexander Isak.
The Premier League champions are hoping to land the Newcastle United striker this summer – and saw their first offer of around £110m rejected.
It’s thought that Newcastle are holding out for closer to £150m for Isak but football pundit Carragher has argued that the move ‘doesn’t feel right’.
Liverpool have already splashed out £79m to sign Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike ahead of the 2025-26 season, who would change into a back-up to Isak if the Reds ended up signing the Sweden international.
‘Something about it doesn’t feel right’
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Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, Carragher said: ‘He (Isak) can be a tremendous signing but from a fan’s viewpoint for myself, I don’t want Liverpool to spend £150m on Isak.
‘There’s something about Liverpool buying one other striker (Ekitike), and he’s backup. Something about it doesn’t feel right to me.
‘I take a look at Isak, and he’s obviously thrown his toys out the pram once Arsenal signed a striker and Liverpool signed a striker. It feels a bit messy to me now.
‘For me, when I believe of Liverpool, it doesn’t look really planned. I don’t think the plan is to purchase a striker for £80 million, after which be trying to buy one other one for £120 million.
‘When it comes to what Liverpool have done in the summertime by bringing in players, they’ve spent a whole lot of money and it doesn’t feel just like the Liverpool way of doing things a lot.’
Isak told Newcastle at the top of the July that he wants to go away St James’ Park before the summer transfer window closes on September 1.
The 25-year-old has just about gone on strike to try to force an exit, with Isak recently training alone at his former club Real Sociedad, despite being under contract with Newcastle until the summer of 2028.
Howe sends message to Isak after rejected bid
Eddie Howe, manager of the Magpies, admits the situation is ‘removed from ideal’ but still hopes to see the unsettled star back in a Newcastle shirt.
‘I used to be made aware there was a bid,’ Howe said. ‘That bid was turned down.
‘There are people back in England coping with the situation. I actually don’t know what’s going to occur next, but from our perspective, we still support Alex in every way, and my wish continues to be that we see him in a Newcastle shirt again.’
Asked if Liverpool’s interest had unsettled Isak ahead of the brand new season, Howe replied: ‘It’s difficult, since you don’t know what’s going to occur from this point.
‘The fact is we had a primary bid from Liverpool and that was turned down. From this point onwards, let’s see what happens.’
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