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He just needs to become a Liverpool player to prove it.

While Liverpool's summer spending spree amounts to £270 million so far on Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, sources have told ESPN that the Premier League champions continue to pursue a move for Isak despite Newcastle rejecting an initial enquiry two weeks ago.

If the wheels begin to turn in Liverpool's favour and a deal for Isak suddenly becomes a real possibility, it will likely involve a fee in the region of £150m to sign the Sweden forward -- a fee that would take their transfer outlay since the end of last season beyond £400m.



It's a staggering number for a club that has traditionally been outspent by Premier League rivals Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United, but there are two reasons why Liverpool are prepared to break the bank for Isak amid their busy summer.

First of all, they can afford it -- an explanation follows -- and secondly, sources have told ESPN that this transfer window has been identified by the Anfield hierarchy as the one in which they build their team for the next five years and Isak is key to that.

- How Ekitike ended up at Liverpool, what they're getting
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- Will Ekitike be a hit or flop?

And while the numbers for Isak are potentially huge, by signing him now, Liverpool will have their Salah replacement locked in and the task of replacing the old Salah-Sadio Mané-Roberto Firmino forward line will be complete.

In the space of one window, at a possible combined cost of £350m, the signings of Wirtz, Ekitike and (if they get their wish) Isak will give Liverpool their attacking unit for the next five years at least.

The uncertainty over Isak's future at Newcastle continues to grow due to his absence from the club's preseason tour of Singapore and South Korea.

Liverpool's next move in their pursuit of the 25-year-old will decide whether he moves to Anfield this summer, or if Newcastle reject any prospect of the player leaving the club while he still has three years remaining on his contract.

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said just over a week ago, after leaving Isak out of a preseason friendly against Celtic in Glasgow, that he was "confident" his star striker would still be at the club when the transfer window closes on Sept 1, but speaking in Singapore at the weekend, Howe hinted at Isak's future being taken out of his hands by saying, "ultimately, the decision will rest with the board."

Isak Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images

With Newcastle still constrained by the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), despite being owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), the club has struggled to sign players this summer.

Only Nottingham Forest's Anthony Elanga and 18-year-old South Korean winger Seung-Soo Park have been added to Howe's squad; to those pulling the financial levers at St James's, a £150m deal for Isak would give Newcastle the ability to spend big, albeit at the cost of losing their best player.

Newcastle's recruitment difficulties offer encouragement to Liverpool.

When you add in the £82.7m Liverpool earned in the Champions League last season and £174.9m from winning the Premier League, it is clear the club has significant financial headroom, with the £270m already spent well accounted for by the money coming in.

If, as expected, Darwin Núñez, Harvey Elliott and Chiesa are also moved on before Sept.
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