Sky Sports takes a look at the attacker of war in Newcastle and Liverpool with Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike – and answers the most important questions about the Transfersaga.
For which striker does Liverpool go for: Isak or Ekitike?
Liverpool seems to be concentrating on a deal for Hugo Ekitike after he has been told by Newcastle that Isak is not for sale.
A day after Newcastle saw a club record £ 70 million bid for Ekitike rejected, the Reds opened conversations with Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday.
Sky Sports News has always believed that Isak is Liverpool's first choice – but Ekitike has always been their leading alternatives.
His game is very similar to Isak's and he would be cheaper, but with potential to become one of the Premier League selection framework after a successful year in Germany.
How can Liverpool afford to sign a striker after signing Florian Wirtz?
The relative lack of activity of Liverpool in the last few windows is an important reason why their finances are healthy.
The club's financial data indicated that they could possibly lose £ 200 million this summer and still meet the profit and sustainability rules (PSR) – where clubs can lose £ 105 million over a three -year period.
According to the expert of football financing Swiss Ramble, the most recent financial results of the Reds showed that Liverpool made £ 48 million in the current PSR period of three years, partly because of the modest recent transfer expenditure.
That means that Liverpool can lose another £ 158 million and still be in accordance with the following summer.
And while Liverpool has already spent around £ 185 million on new players in the current window – including a reimbursement of a maximum of £ 116 million for Florian Wirtz – the Reds placed a club record income of £ 613.8 million for the 2023-24 season, partly due to commercial success.
That figure will only increase on the seasonal accounts of 2024-25, given Liverpool Champions League football, knockout qualification for that tournament and also Premier League champions.
Academy Product Jarell Quansah has already joined Bayer Leverkusen in a £ 35 million deal that represents 100 percent profit under PSR rules, and the Reds can further stimulate sales figures by the end of the summer.
Darwin Nunez, Harvey Elliott and Luiz Diaz are all further potential departure, although a Diaz output is currently less likely, despite the attempts of Bayern Munich to put him away.
Does Newcastle have a dilemma?
Although the situation around the two clubs and the two strikers involved is complicated, many have already simplified the situation to Liverpool that Newcastle presents with this dilemma: sell us your star stiker or we go to your most important striker instead.
Since Ekitike has always been a player who wanted Liverpool, and Newcastle has stood firmly on Isak, it is more likely that Liverpool has done a final check or ISAK is possible before they put their eggs in the Ekitike basket.
Liverpool are attractive potential employers as winners of the Premier League title.
But Timing is the key to Newcastle, who tried to sign Ekitike in the summer of 2022 before he decided to go to PSG.
If Isak is not going this summer, the Swedish international is probably next year.
The recruitment of Ekitike would enable Now Newcastle to inform him this season before he may take over the mantle of the Hoofdman next summer. It would also give Newcastle the freedom to make a choice on Isak, because buying Ekitike (or another striker) would now be cheaper than after the prospect of a record sale of Liverpool. Clubs would know that Newcastle has money to burn and would increase their prices.
The Magpies have already missed Liam Delap and Joao Pedro – both to Chelsea – and now have to go back to the drawing table.
However, if they are started again, there are many more top options on the market, including Benjamin Sesko and Yoane Wissa.
Newcastle has a lot of strategic thinking to do.
Can Isak and Ekitike really play together?
It is a fascinating proposition, was the pendulum that would swing back in favor of Newcastle.
Whether Eddie Howe looked at a 4-2-4 with Anthony Elanga and Anthony Gordon who flank the duo on the wings, or moving a star forward to use them both, we might never know.
But Ekitike would probably not have been signed to sit on the couch, with the plan for him to supplement Isak – at least this season – as the hope had been for Joao Pedro before he chose Chelsea instead.
Isak and Ekitike are very similar players. Not only are the competition numbers of the striker couple last season almost identical, but they also assume similar areas of the field.
Ekitike's heat and pass cards hints to them do many of the same things – which fall deep to the middle circle but retain a penalty box.
With Champions League football and so many matches it would have been more likely that they were interchangeable than usable than for two.
If Liverpool does not get Isak or Ekitike, for whom can they move instead?
Jamie Carragher said that earlier this summer Liverpool needed a center and they wanted to make a change in that position by having Darwin Nunez leave.
It now looks like they will insist to Ekitike and have a good chance of getting him – but it is still possible that they will not end any of them.
It will certainly cost more than what a club record offer would have been in Newcastle of £ 70 million to get Ekitike from Frankfurt.
There is no shortage of striker options on the current market. Victor Osimhen is certainly a player who has had Liverpool on their radar for a while, as well as Benjamin Sesko.
Another player with whom the Reds are reportedly connected is Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa, who was a target for Arsenal in January, but he is 29 and would present a shift in the direction.
The relocation of Liverpool for Ekitike has received more encouragement than that of Newcastle, but in football – not least in the transfer window – there are no guarantees. One phone call and suddenly everything shifts …