Jamie Carragher has compared Liverpool’s transfer window to those of ‘Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson seemed able to sign any top-performing Premier League player he fancied’.
Having won the league title last season with only the addition of Federico Chiesa, Arne Slot’s side are sitting pretty at the top of the table after three games this term with a wealth of new talent in their ranks.
Jeremie Frimpong provides legs at right-back, as does Kerkez on the left, Florian Wirtz brings flair to the Reds’ workman-like midfield and Hugo Ekitike has settled into English football seamlessly.
But – after a few months in which the Reds spent more than £300m – the signing of Alexander Isak comes as the icing on the cake of a mouth-watering transfer window which even the most optimistic of Liverpool supporters couldn’t have envisaged.
Indeed, so good has their business been this summer that Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has compared it to ‘Real Madrid under Florentino Perez, Barcelona at their peak’ and Sir Alex Ferguson’s great Man United teams.
The former central defender wrote in his column in The Telegraph: ‘Klopp once said he didn’t want Liverpool to be the best team in the world, but the hardest to beat. He depicted his side as Rocky Balboa trying to defeat Ivan Drago.
Jamie Carragher has compared Liverpool’s summer transfer window to those of great teams of years gone by
The Reds took their spending past the £450m mark with the late signing of Alexander Isak
The £125m spent on Isak eclipsed the £116m Liverpool splashed out on Florian Wirtz earlier in the window
‘Seeing the club spend over £400m in one transfer window represents a bold new world for those of us emotionally invested in the Merseyside club.
‘On the back of signing Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, Liverpool are behaving more like Real Madrid under Florentino Pérez, Barcelona at their peak, Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson seemed able to sign any top-performing Premier League player he fancied, or Chelsea and Manchester City in the first transfer windows after their respective Roman Abramovich and Abu Dhabi takeovers.
‘The club are tremendously well run and the net spend means they have acted within the rules. That’s a tribute to years of planning, and those critical of the owners during previous, less proactive transfer windows must have performed an embarrassing U-turn in the last few months.
‘That cannot change that Wirtz and Isak will be judged against their high price tags.
‘Such deals bring tremendous anticipation levels, but added pressure to deliver. When you spend as much as Liverpool, you must win.’
The only signing the Reds couldn’t get over the line this summer was that of Marc Guehi on Deadline Day.
Liverpool chiefs had agreed a £35m fee with Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish for the Eagles skipper, who underwent his medical in London yesterday afternoon.
Palace had however made clear – much like Newcastle in the Isak saga – that they wanted two replacements through the door before letting the Englishman depart.
Arne Slot’s side are now well and truly the team to beat, according to Carragher
Isak said after completing his move: ‘It’s been a long journey to get here. But I’m super-happy to be a part of this team’
They signed one, young Jayvee Canvot, and were closing in on a deal for Brighton’s Igor Julio but the centre-half chose West Ham United at the last minute – and Parish pulled the plug.
It came just hours after Liverpool confirmed the completion of the Isak deal on social media after a weeks-long saga which captured the attention of fans across the country.
The striker, who netted 54 goals in 86 Premier League appearances for Magpies, signed for a fee worth a British record £125million.
He put pen to paper on a six-year deal and trumps the previous British transfer record that Chelsea paid for Moises Caicedo two years ago, also eclipsing Liverpool’s record signing of £116m for Florian Wirtz earlier this summer.
The new number nine said: ‘It’s been a long journey to get here. But I’m super-happy to be a part of this team, this club and everything it stands for. It’s something I’m proud of and I’m really looking forward to it.
‘I think I have a lot to give, I think I have a lot to improve. I’m a striker but I always want to give as much as possible to the team, mainly goals but much more than that as well. I want to win everything.’
The Swede’s Liverpool debut may come at Burnley after the international break.
