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Liverpool has made its first move to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle as the staggering summer spending spree could continue.

The Reds have already splashed out on the likes of Florian Wirtz and Milos Kerkez and is now prioritizing a new No.9, with the likes of Isak and Hugo Ekitike on Richard Hughes' wishlist.

Liverpool’s former director of research previously revealed why the Reds opted against signing Isak in 2022 and instead decided to complete a deal for Darwin Nunez.

Both strikers were on the move three years ago, with Liverpool’s new forward arriving in a record-breaking deal from Benfica, while Isak swapped Real Sociedad for Newcastle United.

They’ve had contrasting fortunes since, with the Magpies’ star establishing himself among the best center forwards in the Premier League, while Nunez has struggled to find consistency in front of goal.

The Uruguayan is expected to move on this summer, with Italian champions Napoli holding strong interest along with a number of clubs from Saudi Arabia.

But it could have been very different had Liverpool plumped for Isak three years ago.

Graham, who spent 11 years as the Reds’ director of research, led an innovative recruitment model that drew on analytics and statistics to sign players, a game-changing approach which is now commonplace across the sport.

He worked in conjunction with then manager Jurgen Klopp to decide on Liverpool’s transfer approach, but speaking in a recent interview, Graham has revealed how the German had an increasing say over the club’s recruitment plans in the latter stages of his Anfield reign.



Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp opted against signing Alexander Isak in 2022

It would be very churlish of me to say, ‘It’s terrible that Jurgen had his choice’, when in the past Jurgen had been persuaded by me and my colleagues of a different choice.

“And it was still the case that we signed good players — in Nunez’s case, one of the best young strikers in Europe.”

Graham’s influence over transfers saw Liverpool sign Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, with Klopp known to have preferred the signing of Julian Brandt over the latter.

This article was first published in June 2025
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