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It seemed like Liverpool might have moved on from the striker following Ekitike’s signing, but the Reds have been given new hope that a deal might still be possible this summer.

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Isak has already told Newcastle he wants to leave the club, and despite its big spending spree already this summer, Liverpool should still have the means in which to go after him, especially if a number of players are to be offloaded as expected.

It will of course still be a big ask for Hughes to get a deal over the line.

Newcastle has remained adamant that Isak is not for sale, and now the club’s chairman has taken the decision over his future out of Eddie Howe’s hands.

Hughes though has already pulled off one major coup this summer with Florian Wirtz, practically pulling him out from under Bayern Munich’s nose, and he may have already given the game away with Isak.

Liverpool’s interest in the 25-year-old is already well known, with last week’s approach to Newcastle confirming as much.

Alexander Isak has told Newcastle he wants to leave the club

“With the window open, we'll always be opportunistic if we can,” Hughes said last year.

Well, you don’t get much more opportunistic than a player telling his current club he wants to leave, and subsequent reports have suggested Isak does indeed want a move to Liverpool.

There is of course the small matter of trying to convince Newcastle to make a U-turn on its stance, but if Hughes is to get a deal done, it may have to be this summer.

"When there are major competitions during the summer — a European Championship, Copa America and the Olympics as well — there's a lot of football being played, naturally the attention is going to be there," Hughes added upon his unveiling last year.



We are still a long way from knowing who will be at the World Cup next year, with Isak’s Sweden having not even started its qualification campaign yet.

If Sweden does make it to the tournament though, you can guarantee Isak will be there, adding another hurdle to his potential signing.

The opportunity might still be there next year for Liverpool - in fact, Newcastle might be more forthcoming to a sale then given Isak would have two years left on his contract at that point - but integrating him into Arne Slot’s squad in a year in which pre-season will be affected by another international tournament is certainly not ideal, and Hughes knows that.

Liverpool’s sporting director then may have his eyes on striking now while the opportunity is there, and given Newcastle is already looking at potential replacements for Isak, the door might well be opening.


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