Liverpool have done it. When all is said and done at the end of the transfer window, which closes at 7pm this evening, Arne Slot’s side will have welcomed Alexander Isak to their ranks.
Isak, 25, has fought to leave Newcastle United and sign for the Premier League champions for many weeks, and after weeks of interminable waiting, now has his wish. Isak will sign for Liverpool.
27 goals for Eddie Howe’s Magpies last season, the Sweden striker is an unstoppable force, so many ways to hurt his opponents. However, FSG don’t seem content with merely the record-breaking man, and plan for more before the window slams shut.
Liverpool planning D-day business
When Marc Guehi scored a looping strike at Villa Park on Sunday evening, he celebrated with the passion and weight of a player set to jump ship.
Liverpool want the centre-back, but they are also ready to move for a new winger to complement Isak, with transfer insider Matt Thielen revealing Richard Hughes has received an offer from AC Milan for Liverpool to sign Rafael Leao as a part of the deal that could see Joe Gomez sign for the Italians.
Valued at £86m and also targeted by Arsenal this summer, the Portuguese winger, 26, would truly be the icing on the cake for the Redmen, adding with Isak quality of the highest class to Slot’s frontline.
What Rafael Leao would bring to Liverpool
Leao has been remarked to be “one of the best left wingers in the world” by analyst Ben Mattinson, and while Milan struggled throughout the 2024/25 campaign, he stood proud as a shining light, scoring 12 goals and supplying 13 assists across the campaign, 50 matches all told.
A consistently menacing forward season upon season, Leao is electric-paced and utterly terrifying when on the ball and hurtling down the flank. FBref data records that he ranks among the top 4% of wingers across Europe’s top five leagues for successful take-ons per 90.
A successful take-on is recorded when a player beats their opponent by directly carrying the ball past them while retaining possession.
His world-class credentials and staggering price tag suggest that Liverpool could make an instant repeat of the deal that saw them land Isak by getting it done on D-day.
25/26
1
1
0
24/25
50
12
13
23/24
47
15
14
22/23
48
16
15
21/22
42
14
12
20/21
40
7
6
19/20
33
6
2
In fact, Leao has actually been described by Milan coach Stefano Pioli as looking like “the early Thierry Henry”, and that’s something that has been attributed to Isak over the past several years too, having been likened to the Arsenal and Les Bleus legend last season, bringing such flair and destructive quality to the final third.
While Leao has yet to unearth and maintain truly jaw-dropping levels in front of goal, he has the talent, all right, and might just reach that giddy level of his game with a move to Merseyside.
Rangy and robust, he’s the real deal and would provide Liverpool with the perfect contrasting skill set to Cody Gakpo on the left flank.
Similar to Isak in some ways, he would work wonders alongside the Scandinavian star, supplying and interchanging in seamless synergy.
In Isak, Liverpool have signed one of the finest centre-forwards in the business, but if they manage to wrap up a move for Leao too, there’s surely going to be no stopping the Anfield side, chock-full with world-class quality.