While Liverpool fans will be hoping to see the first trophy of the Arne Slot era being won later, they may also be keeping a close eye on Alexander Isak once again.
Having been denied the chance to play at Anfield last month through injury, Isak should get his opportunity to face the Reds at Wembley today in the Carabao Cup final. There is plenty on the line for both sides, with Liverpool hoping to complete the first part of a double this season, while Isak will be aiming to fire his side to a first major trophy in over 50 years.
The striker has been in superb form for Newcastle this season – in fact, only Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland have scored more Premier League goals than him this season. It was against Liverpool in early December that Isak truly kick-started his hot streak, the first of eight Premier League games in a row in which he found the net. It’s a sequence which has seen his transfer value shoot up, with Arne Slot’s side apparently among the interested parties.
For its part, Liverpool has not had major issues with firepower. But the future of Mohamed Salah remains uncertain, and it seems the jury is no longer out on Darwin Nunez, with the Uruguayan failing to improve on his profligacy in his third season at Anfield.
Liverpool needs a new striker, and Isak has been touted as a potential option, with recent reports even suggesting Nunez might be offered up as part of a swap deal. And while one report in January suggested Newcastle could demand as much as $247 million (£200M), a transfer might not be entirely beyond the realms of possibility.
That’s because Isak himself appears to have a positive view of Liverpool. While Newcastle no doubt wants to reach the point where players see St James’ Park as a final destination, the allure of Anfield could yet prove significant.
The 25-year-old is certainly settled at Newcastle. And he has spoken in glowing terms about the club:
“There are not many places like St James’ Park,” Isak previously told Amazon Prime, via Newcastle World. “The atmosphere is very special and I think you can judge a stadium, not just on the atmosphere but how difficult it is to come as an away team.
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“It’s a special place. I think people have a hard time coming to the stadium.”
However, unprompted, he also threw Liverpool into the mix.
“I’d say Anfield is probably up there as well,” Isak added. “The atmosphere is really good – it’s probably the toughest away game.”
That might not fill Newcastle fans with too much confidence about his future, and when he spoke to the media ahead of today’s final, the subject of his future was inevitably brought up.
“About my future, it’s nothing really I think about,” Isak said. “I’ve said many times during a season just focus on the job and now is probably the worst time to think about anything else so all of our focus is just on Sunday and doing good and hopefully bringing the trophy back to Newcastle.”
Asked about the possibility of signing a new deal at Newcastle, Isak replied: “I’ve said I’m not really thinking about the summer, but yes, that’ll probably be a talking point once the season is finished. We will really see because no talks have been held yet.”
An original version of this article was first published on January 22. It has since been updated.
