Liverpool chairman drops incredible Alexander Isak truthbomb that’ll leave Ekitike bewildered

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner has revealed just how close his side came to ABANDONING the Alexander Isak transfer – and the American’s verdict will certainly have the in-form Hugo Ekitike’s ears pricking up.

The Reds left no stone unturned in their quest to strengthen Arne Slot’s title-winning squad this summer, lavishing an unprecedented £440m on new players. While a large portion of that was offset by some high-profile sales, the 2025 transfer window – which saw the British transfer record broken twice – will go down in the Liverpool history books.

The second of those record-breaking deals actually came in the closing stages of the window, when a frustrated Newcastle United ultimately relented and allowed their talismanic Sweden striker, Isak, to make his long-anticipated move to Anfield, with the two clubs striking on a £125m transfer agreement.

Earlier in the summer, the Reds had offered Newcastle £110m with a further £10m in add-ons – an offer that was emphatically dismissed. And with Liverpool having already signed Ekitike in a £79m package from Eintracht Frankfurt, Werner has now revealed that his side would have been reluctantly happy had they only ended up signing the Frenchman.

Speaking on The Overlap USA, Werner revealed: “With the Newcastle situation, their club needed to find a replacement.

“We thought that we had a terrific financial offer for them, but he did have a contract with them that lasted for three more years.

“I guess our feeling was we had signed Ekitike to be a striker, and we felt if it works, then that would be great, and if it doesn’t work, there’ll be another option at some point down the road.

“I didn’t know any more than the news media, I thought we were going to get the defender from Crystal Palace on the last day!

“I think Isak will be terrific, but he’s not the only striker in the world.”

READ NEXT 🔴 ‘Top-class’ Liverpool star warned after Everton win as £69m teammate ‘getting better and better’

In-form Ekitike is not a guaranteed starter for Liverpool

While Newcastle went on to sign both Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa with the funds generated from Isak’s sale, which saw them make a profit of around £80m on their original investment, for Ekitke, the striker knows he cannot afford to let his standards slip at Anfield.

To that end, a high-profile journalist recently claimed that the striker would not have joined the Reds had he known in advance that they would also be signing Isak, too.

Certainly, Werner’s claims that ‘Isak is not the only striker in the world’ suggests the Reds would have ultimately pursued other options had they not been successful in their quest for the Swede, adding more weight to the fact that Slot’s plan this summer was always to sign two new No.9s.

Having started like a train since his move – Ekitike on Saturday lunchtime scored again as the Reds maintained their 100% start to the season with a 2-1 win over Everton at Anfield – the Frenchman knows he will need to stay in the goals to give Slot a selection headache.

Yet despite his record of three goals and one assist from six appearances so far, Ekitike is likely to have to rotate in Slot’s side this season, once Isak fully gets up to speed – and that will be bewildering for a man who could not have done better since his move to Merseyside.

Slot, himself, has offered a guarantee to both players that they will both get their fair share of action.

“We have two great number nines and we’re going to use both of them throughout their career here,” the Dutchman told TNT Sports after Wednesday night’s eventful 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

How he manages to keep both players happy, though, will be interesting to see, and the Reds will be hoping that the electric form of both players can keep the Reds on track for potentially the best season in their history.

Latest Liverpool news: Mac Allister, Real Madrid truths; ‘absolute tank’ to sign

Meanwhile, the Reds have learned that Real Madrid interest in Alexis Mac Allister is genuine, though as sources explain, that does not necessarily mean a 2026 transfer to the Bernabeu is a guarantee.

Elsewhere, a quadruple Liverpool signing is all part of Arne Slot’s masterplan to transform the Reds into European champions, with the influence of a new European force having a strong influence on the Dutchman’s thinking.

And finally, Liverpool have been given a significant lift in their quest to bring an “absolute tank” to Anfield after a journalist shared why he wants the move above all others, and with a source explaining why Slot’s chances of a January deal are not to be entirely ruled out.

VOTE: How many goals will Ekitike score for Liverpool in his first season at the club?