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The wantaway Swede has made it clear he considers his Magpies career over and is essentially on strike as he looks to force an exit.

The Reds are his destination of choice, having had an £110m bid rejected earlier this month, and they are understood to be ready to return to the table should they be given encouragement from the North East that a deal could be possible.

But whether such encouragement will be forthcoming in the final week of the transfer window remains to be seen.



James’ Park, they still need another striker to replace Calum Wilson after the England international departed at the end of his contract.

So far, they have missed out on the likes of Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko and Hugo Ekitike in attack alone.

Of course, they will face up against such transfer failings on Monday with Ektike poised to lead the line for Liverpool against Newcastle.

The Frenchman has enjoyed a strong start to his Reds career, following up a debut goal in the Community Shield against Crystal Palace with a goal and assist on his Premier League and Anfield debut against AFC Bournemouth.

Ekitike is a player Newcastle have monitored for years, leading to them placing a £70m bid that was rejected by Eintracht Frankfurt back in July.

But with Liverpool making initial advances over Ekitike back in January, with Slot then speaking to the Frenchman at the end of last season, the Reds - already armed with all the data, scouting reports and character references needed to pursue the deal - were able to act quickly to conclude a deal after Newcastle’s own initial bid was rejected.

Back in July when moving for Ekitike, the Magpies insisted they wanted him to play alongside Isak rather than replace him.

I think he has a load of qualities that will serve him really well in the Premier League.

“Our job will be to keep him quiet and to try and control him but certainly he is going to be a threat this year.”

With Isak still on strike at Newcastle, Ekitike has been left free to flourish upfront for Liverpool in his first two outings without direct competition.

Sure, Federico Chiesa emerged late on to restore his side’s lead in the 4-2 victory against Bournemouth after being sent on upfront, but there is no escaping the fact that against both the Cherries and Crystal Palace in the Community Shield the week before, the Reds were not as effective after Ekitike had been withdrawn around the 70th minute mark.

Slot has had his reasons for such substitutions, admitting he still has to manage the new arrival carefully - especially given his lack of alternatives in attack.

But that in turn emphasises Liverpool’s need for an additional forward before the transfer window closes.

Teenager Rio Ngumoha is also an option, but boasts just one senior appearance under his belt and will celebrate his 17th birthday next week.

While the Reds currently look set to retain Chiesa’s services, despite a summer of speculation linking him with a return to Italy, the decision to sell both Diaz and Nunez - for a combined fee curiously in the same ballpark as their already rejected bid for Isak - suggests that a further recruit in attack will still be forthcoming.

It has not been lost on supporters that Nunez, who scored five goals in four pre-season outings for Liverpool before leaving for Al-Hilal, has continued that form for the Saudi Pro League outfit by scoring in each of his first two matches in friendly wins over FC Aarau and SV Waldhof Mannheim 07.

But Diaz’s impact at Bayern has proven to be even more telling.

Scoring the winner on his debut to win the DFL-Supercup against VfB Stuttgart, the Colombian followed it up with a goal and two assists as the Bavarians started their Bundesliga title defence with a stunning 6-0 thrashing of RB Leipzig.

Of course, Diaz starting a campaign quickly is not a new sight to Reds supporters.

In each of his three full seasons for Liverpool, he scored in their first home game of the campaign against Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Brentford respectively.

Last season, he had five goals and an assist to show from his first five starts of the campaign.

His ‘issue’, for want of a better word, was always being able to consistently maintain such returns throughout an entire season.

But the sight of Diaz banging in goals for Bayern will only further hammer home the fact that Liverpool remain short in attack following his summer departure.

The Reds do not need reminding that they need to sign another forward, especially while they continue to monitor Isak’s situation from afar.
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