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Alexander Isak and Luis Diaz(Image: Getty Images)

With Luis Diaz now set to depart Tokyo to complete the formalities of his £65.5m move to Bayern Munich, attention inevitably now turns to what happens next for Liverpool.

Having spent the thick end of £300m during a summer transfer window of historical proportions, recouping a hefty sum for Diaz will go a long way towards redressing the balance, particularly given the need for further attention elsewhere.

Liverpool, for their part, are stressing that the squad remains plentiful in attacking options, given the £79m addition of Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt last week.



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With Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo also still in place alongside Federico Chiesa and an increasingly emerging Rio Ngumoha, the key decision makers at Anfield are insistent there will be no panic around Diaz's departure, even more so considering club-record signing Florian Wirtz can operate as a 'false 9' - and did so with much promise during an encouraging first half on Saturday against AC Milan.

The elephant in the room, however, remains the interest in Alexander Isak.

For a club who have already committed to the biggest-spending summer in their history, a £65.5m cash boost will be no bad thing if they are truly considering testing Newcastle's resolve over their wantaway Sweden international.

Magpies boss Eddie Howe confirmed late last week that there is "no chance" of Isak joining up with his colleagues in the Far East for their pre-season programme, having initially cited a thigh issue to keep him off the tour.

Since news of that apparent injury broke, the striker has communicated his desire to leave St James' Park.

It seems inconceivable Isak will have agitated to leave this proactively and publicly without having at least one potential suitor waiting in the wings and it's been reported by those connected in the North East that Newcastle are now braced for a British-record offer for their star man this week.

How they react if and when those numbers are officially tabled is difficult to second guess at this stage.

Newcastle have been steadfast and consistent in their messaging around Isak not being for sale, but after the player himself made it clear he is seeking pastures, coupled with the struggle to land their primary targets, might a fee upwards of £120m finally soften the stance?

With Yoan Wissa, Nicolas Jackson and Benjamin Sesko all now part of the thinking in Newcastle's recruitment department, having failed to get a slew of other first-choice targets through the door earlier this summer, it feels as though the Magpies are preparing - at least in some tentative and reluctant way - for life after Isak, even if they must tread lightly to get through the political minefield of selling your star man against supporters' wishes.

Liverpool had been against selling Diaz back in June, believing he remained an integral part of the plan on the back of a campaign that saw him score 17 goals in all competitions, including 13 in a Premier League that Arne Slot's side won with four games to spare.

Barcelona's interest was dismissed instantly in June with there being much skepticism about their ability to pay anything like a fee that might force a change of heart from inside Anfield.

But when Diaz confirmed on international duty in June that his entourage had been speaking to other clubs about their potential interest, it looked increasingly likely as though this would be the outcome.

Having wanted to leave last summer, when Manchester City briefly sounded out Liverpool over a possible deal, the Colombia international will now finally get his wish to essentially earn more than his bottom line at Anfield, which remains the same terms as he signed in January 2022 when he moved from Porto.

Two contract offers had been floated across the desk of Diaz's agents before it was decided, internally, that a 28-year-old with two years remaining was perfectly positioned to continue on the current terms he was on.

The gap between the two parties was simply too wide and it was decided that a new deal was not a paramount concern for Liverpool, who were also dealing with discussions over Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The player himself is believed to have cited broken promises over those talks, having spoken in May about his belief that negotiations would be ramped up on the back of the title-winning campaign.

However, it was stressed that no talks were planned at Anfield and Diaz is now ready to begin a new phase of his career with Bundesliga champions, once he becomes Liverpool's third most expensive sale of all time behind Philippe Coutinho (£142m) and Luis Suarez (£75m), who both joined Barcelona in 2018 and 2014, respectively.

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Interestingly, it brings the figure from player sales on Richard Hughes's watch to a whopping £190m in less than two full summer windows, meaning that the net spend during his time as sporting director sits at about £115m.

That figure, while not an insignificant amount, is a manageable sum for a club of Liverpool's stature, which, in theory, suggests there is ample room to manoeuvre if a pursuit of Isak is to be stepped up, particularly if further fringe players are offloaded between now and the end of the window.


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