Are Liverpool supporters ‘settling’ for ‘just’ a Premier League title this season or are they enjoying one of the best seasons in the club’s modern history?
The Reds were beaten 2-1 by Newcastle United in the final of the League Cup, lost to Plymouth Argyle in the fourth round of the FA Cup, and were knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
This means that Arne Slot’s side’s only chance of winning silverware this season is the league title and, at this point, they are 12 points clear of Arsenal with nine matches left to play.
As you can see in the clip above, there were no fans allowed inside the stadium to watch the only Premier League title success in Liverpool’s history to date, which would not be the case this time.
This is not to say that supporters should be happy that their team has suffered setbacks in multiple other competitions, but this is still set to be a historic campaign for the club.
Despite that, Liverpool may still look to the summer transfer window to improve their squad for next season, with the star of Sunday’s League Cup final reportedly on their radar.
Liverpool's interest in Alexander Isak
Earlier this week, Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano confirmed that the Reds are one of the clubs interested in a deal to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano said: “But I keep telling you that big, big, massive proposals will come to the table for Alexander Isak because Arsenal will be there, Arsenal want Isak.
“Liverpool are also there for Alexander Isak, they already made some contacts with people close to the player, so both clubs are interested in Alexander Isak. For Arsenal, he is the absolute top target. For Liverpool, he’s one of names they are considering in that position.”
These quotes from Romano suggest that it will take a big push from Michael Edwards and the recruitment team to land the Sweden international, as he is seemingly a big priority for the Gunners.
Ahead of the January transfer window, The Telegraph reported that it would take a fee in excess of a British record £150m to tempt the Magpies into cashing in on the centre-forward. It added that Newcastle’s demands also caused Chelsea to end their pursuit of the former Borussia Dortmund man.
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It now remains to be seen whether or not the Reds are prepared to splash out a record fee on the Magpies star, who showcased his quality against Slot’s men at Wembley on Sunday.
Isak, who scored – what turned out to be – the winner in the League Cup final, is reportedly on £120k-per-week at St. James’ Park, and Liverpool already have a number nine who earns more than him at Anfield.
Liverpool's top wage earners
The Reds, in fact, have many players who earn more than the Newcastle superstar currently does on Tyneside, which suggests that they have the wage budget to fit him into their current structure – if they do decide to stump up the £150m fee.
Mo Salah, whose contract expires in the summer, is reportedly on a weekly wage of £350k and has paid that back with 27 goals and 17 assists in the Premier League this season.
He has provided goals and assists on a regular basis in the top-flight, pushing his team towards the title this term, and there may not be many complaints about how much the club are paying him for his services.
Mo Salah
£350k
Virgil van Dijk
£220k
Trent Alexander-Arnold
£180k
Andy Robertson
£160k
Alexis Mac Allister
£150k
Alisson
£150k
Federico Chiesa
£150k
Ryan Gravenberch
£150k
Darwin Nunez
£140k
Diogo Jota
£140k
As you can see in the table above, Uruguay international Darwin Nunez, on a reported wage of £140k-per-week, also earns more than the £150m-rated Liverpool target Isak.
With this and the club’s interest in the Swedish forward in mind, Slot must finally ditch the former Benfica centre-forward in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Why Liverpool must sell Darwin Nunez
Liverpool splashed out a club-record fee of £85m to sign the number nine from Benfica in the summer of 2022 to bolster Jurgen Klopp’s options at the top end of the pitch.
Unfortunately, however, Nunez has not proven to be a reliable forward for either Klopp or Slot in the subsequent seasons in English football, as his finishing has often left far too much to be desired.
The 25-year-old forward, as you can see in the clips above, has had his fair share of good moments in a Liverpool shirt, scoring 40 goals in 136 matches for the club to date.
Nunez has, however, missed a staggering 81 ‘big chances’ in all competitions since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, with 28 in his first season, a mind-blowing 38 last term, and 15 in the current campaign.
This means that the £85m signing has missed just over twice as many ‘big chances’ as he has scored goals for the Premier League giants, which shows that the ex-Benfica man is far from reliable enough in front of goal to be a consistent scorer.
24/25 appearances
25
23
24/25 xG
15.55
4.86
24/25 goals
19
5
24/25 big chances missed
11
6
23/24 appearances
30
36
23/24 xG
20.29
16.39
23/24 goals
21
11
23/24 big chances missed
21
27
As you can see in the table above, Isak has significantly outperformed the Liverpool man at the top end of the pitch in the Premier League since the start of last season, scoring 40 goals to Nunez’s 16.
This shows that Newcastle are getting far more out of the Swedish star for £120k-per-week wages than the Reds are getting from Nunez for his £140k-per-week wages, on top of the £85m transfer fee.
NBC host Rebecca Lowe claimed that the striker had “been a bit rubbish” for the Reds last year, and it remains difficult to argue against that comment with his poor ‘big chance’ conversion rate across almost three years at the club.
Therefore, Slot should look to finally move on from the Uruguay international in the summer in the hope that he can be replaced by a reliable number nine, whether that is Isak or another player.
Atletico Madrid and Al-Nassr have both been reported to be interested in a swoop for the Liverpool striker, which suggests that there is enough interest from elsewhere for the Reds to cash in on the £85m flop when the summer transfer window opens for business.
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Slot must, now, make it clear to the board that Nunez should be moved on and replaced ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, to ensure that Liverpool have a striker who they can rely on week-in-week-out in the final third next season and beyond.