Liverpool look likely to be on the hunt for a new central attacker during the summer transfer market.

The Reds have been lethal in front of goal for much of the season, Wednesday night’s win over Newcastle bringing them their 100th and 101st strikes of the campaign.

However, with Darwin Nunez struggling to get going and Diogo Jota too regularly injured, Arne Slot has not been able to rely on a No.9 to get Liverpool’s goals.

On Wednesday, the Anfield crowd had perhaps hoped to get a look at the man who many have tipped to be Liverpool’s number one target this summer: Alexander Isak.

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Isak has had a terrific three years with Newcastle and although his absence certainly helped the Reds’ chances of winning, some will have been disappointed not to see him in the flesh at Anfield.

As transfer rumours surrounding Isak continue to ramp up, though, the fact that the Swede was not able to play on Wednesday should have sent faint alarm bells ringing at Liverpool.

Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images

There are no guarantees that Isak leaves Newcastle this summer.

They would have to have been completely convinced by Isak to do so.

And while the 25-year-old’s record of 56 goals in 97 games for Newcastle is certainly compelling, there is another statistic which should plant a seed of doubt in the Liverpool owners‘ minds.

READ MORE: Eddie Howe reveals whether Alexander Isak is likely to be back fit for Newcastle’s Carabao Cup final vs Liverpool

Unfortunately, Isak’s injury on Wednesday has been something of a regular occurrence since 2022.

The match against the Reds was the 39th he has missed since joining Newcastle.

That’s a full Premier League season and more.

For reference, Nunez has sat out of 16 games across that same time frame, while Jota has missed a whopping 70.

Mohamed Salah’s number stands at just 12.

Although Isak could well be the player this Liverpool squad is truly missing, it is not ideal to be spending so much on a somewhat injury prone striker.

SeasonGames MissedNumber of InjuriesGames PlayedGoals2022/2318127102023/2412240252024/25933021Alexander Isak games missed through injury since joining Newcastle

The Sweden international is completely proven in the Premier League and when fit would add an extra dimension to Slot’s team.

However, Richard Hughes and co have a lot to do before next season starts and as ever they’ll be penny pinching to get it done.

Some supporters may have turned up at Anfield on Wednesday expecting to see why Isak should be their No.9 for 2025/26.

Instead, we think they were sent a timely warning that they could be on the verge of an expensive transfer mistake.
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