Liverpool sacrificing Hugo Ekitike for Alexander Isak was NOT an option | OneFootball

Liverpool now have a situation whereby they have a £79m striker in Arne Slot's first-team in Hugo Ekitike and they had been looking at bringing Alexander Isak into the side as well for a record fee.

Recent developments now suggest that the Swede isn't going anywhere this summer, with the Reds having to look at other targets if they want to further reinforce their attacking lineup for the season.

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The money is available to spend on whoever they can get their hands on, with just over a week remaining in the summer transfer window before deadline day arrives on September 1, but securing an agreement for a player at this point in time will not be easy. In all likelihood, no one else will join the attack, although Marc Guehi at Crystal Palace could still be a defensive signing on the way.

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Liverpool's misfortune in the Isak developments has been put primarily down to Newcastle's struggles to sign a striker replacement, especially since Ekitike was on the Reds' radar long before he agreed to move to Merseyside. In reality, however, the Frenchman's transfer was unavoidable.

Ekitike was an imperative signing

Over on Tyneside, it was decided that Callum Wilson was not going to be offered a new contract and Liverpool had decided that Darwin Nunez's future was better spent elsewhere. The two players left.

The Reds' plan to replace him was to sign Ekitike, meanwhile Newcastle's vision was to have the 23-year-old playing alongside Isak. When he and Eintracht Frankfurt were confronted by both clubs, it was Liverpool that were favoured and since then, the Magpies have looked at Yohan Wissa.

Of course, while it was entirely plausible that Ekitike could have been a replacement for Isak, that was not the initial plan that was presented and so Liverpool could not have willing given up on him.

Plus, a number of other replacements or partners for Isak were still available on the transfer market, such as Benjamin Sesko, who rejected them. But it was clear that the Swede was not going to leave.

After the dust had settled on the news that Diogo Jota had passed away, Liverpool then decided that another striker needed to be brought through the door and Isak was the first name on their list.

Spending such an inordinate amount of money on two players was never part of the plan, but the circumstances changed and he looked like a possible solution to our problem. While club legend Jamie Carragher has struggled to rationalise it all, Liverpool were hoping Isak would sign for them.

Now that it's likely that Isak will remain at Newcastle this summer, the Reds fortunately have Ekitike to fall back on, and he was always expected to play a significant role, with or without an understudy.

Suggestions that Liverpool would prefer to have Isak right now than Ekitike are true, but lack any of the required context. Even with the Swede, the Reds would still be searching for another forward.

If the finances of the players are put aside temporarily, Liverpool need players on a numbers basis, as Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah and Ekitike are the only senior forwards - that isn't enough.

And so you quickly reach the crux of the issue. 'Letting' the Frenchman go to Tyneside, if he even wanted to, would have been a significant risk and there was no certainty that Isak would have been let go in response. The safest measure for you Liverpool to focus on themselves - signing a striker.

The encouragement from Isak and the Reds' need for another forward has led to the summer's most mind-numbing saga to actualise into this big thing. But make no mistake, this was never the plan.