Would Liverpool trump the title race if they confirmed Alexander Isak deal?

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A deal that could secure glory?

Transcript

00:00Yeah, let's quickly mention Isak.

00:02Obviously, you know, a lot of people do Premier League predictions

00:06and everyone's sort of saying that the echo is that Liverpool are to confirm

00:10Alexander Isak, one of the best number nines in world football at the moment,

00:14that they are just going to trump that title race again.

00:17Obviously, it's not as easy as that.

00:19But we saw sort of the impact and the change that Erling Haaland had

00:23on Manchester City's side.

00:25We obviously mentioned before that Liverpool had gone without an out-and-out nine

00:29for a couple of years.

00:30Obviously, Nunes tried his work there, but ultimately failed in terms of

00:34delivering it up in the biggest moments.

00:38Isak is a player who does that.

00:40And, I mean, how impressive would it be if they were to get this one over the line?

00:45Yeah, it'd be a massive statement, wouldn't it?

00:47Because Liverpool have needs a striker, but they haven't...

00:54They went and got a Hugo Ekotique when it was clear that Newcastle are also interested.

00:59But they haven't ended their interest in Isak.

01:02They're saying, right, well, they'll have both of them.

01:03Because I think the early signs of Ekotique is that he can also play on the left.

01:08He looks like an intelligent footballer.

01:10Maybe he can mix it up a little bit more.

01:14If Liverpool have gone and got Isak, it'll be a massive statement of intent.

01:18Now, it might come down to Newcastle, whether they can get a replacement in or not.

01:24Because, let's be honest, they've been trying for a striker all summer.

01:28And they haven't been able to get any over the line.

01:31Whether that's Liam De Laap, Joe Pedro, Benjamin Sesko, most recently.

01:36You're on Wissard's struggles.

01:38But I think they must have got Wissard in anyway,

01:40if Liverpool haven't been interested in Isak.

01:44So they need to go and get another striker.

01:45And then Liverpool are running out of time to get this deal done.

01:51And so on Newcastle.

01:53Paul's suggesting that Alexander Isak says he'd never play for Newcastle again.

02:00Look, I think you can say that.

02:03But when you're on the periphery of things,

02:05when you're in the wilderness for a couple of months,

02:08maybe you might change your mind.

02:10Especially if Sweden are going to be on to the World Cup next year.

02:13But it surprised me, the approach that he has taken.

02:21I must admit, from not going on a pre-season tour

02:25to going and training in Spain rather than remaining at Newcastle's training grounds.

02:30And then not being reintegrated with the squad.

02:33I must admit, from a personal point of view, I don't like it.

02:38I don't think a lot of Liverpool fans will like it.

02:41Look at what happened with Trent Alexander-Arnold.

02:44How he angled for a move to Real Madrid.

02:48But in all fairness to Alexander-Arnold,

02:51he always gave his all towards the end.

02:54You know, that goal against Leicester,

02:56which was massive to help Liverpool secure the title.

03:00Yeah, I don't think everyone will be all too comfortable.

03:06That's the way football's gone now with player power, isn't it?

03:09But you can't deny that Alexander-Arnold isn't one of the top strikers in the world.

03:13I think he's got everything.

03:15He can hold the ball up, he can score goals,

03:17he can run in behind, he can link the play.

03:20Like, it'd be a massive statement in 10th for Liverpool.

03:24But if they do get Alexander-Arnold,

03:26I don't think that means that necessarily they're going to win the title.

03:29Because that Community Shield's loss against Palace showed that Arna Slott

03:33needs to make adjustments now at the back.

03:35Because Liverpool were exposed a few times by Crystal Palace,

03:39being exposed on the counter-attack in pre-season.

03:41And that's what Arna Slott has got to look at now from a tactical perspective.

03:47How can he get this right balance of a real potent force going forwards

03:52to being really solid defensively, like they were last season at Liverpool.

03:56And there are some miscating circumstances.

03:59They didn't have Ryan Graven-Berch against Palace.

04:01They didn't have Alexis McAllister starting.

04:04They're probably your best two midfielders.

04:06But there is still work to be done.

04:09And I don't think maybe Arsenal and Man City have looked at that

04:11and thinking, well, we've got a chance here

04:14because they might have struggles defensively.

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