Liverpool's 'embarrassing' transfer saga laid ground for Reds to sign Alexander Isak

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However, throughout the summer, the Magpies had remained resolute that the striker was not available for purchase.

At one stage, it appeared the Reds might have been forced to bide their time in their pursuit of the 25 year old, only for Newcastle to relax its public position as the transfer window drew to a close.

As a result, Liverpool succeeded in its bid to acquire Isak.

The Dutchman arrived at Liverpool in a £75m transfer from Southampton in January 2018.

However, his switch only materialised after the Reds had been compelled to abandon their pursuit of the centre-back the preceding summer following accusations of making an unauthorised approach to Van Dijk.

In an official statement at the time, the club said: "Liverpool Football Club would like to put on record our regret over recent media speculation regarding Southampton Football Club and player transfers between the two clubs.", reports the Liverpool Echo.

"We apologise to the owner, board of directors and fans of Southampton for any misunderstanding regarding Virgil van Dijk.

"We respect Southampton's position and can confirm we have ended any interest in the player."

That did not prevent Liverpool from renewing their pursuit the subsequent window and securing Van Dijk in a £75m agreement.

It wasn't good for the squad or the environment, but to be clear, Virgil never said one negative word to anybody.

"We felt, at the time, we could get more if he stayed

He'd had a bad injury, I think he'd been out for six to nine months and we felt that he owed us, which is embarrassing now I think back to it.

"There was also some contact from Liverpool we didn't love