Liverpool Transfer News: Back-up plan CONFIRMED for Alexander Isak | OneFootball

Regardless of whether Alexander Isak moves this summer or not, Liverpool have to make sure a framework is in place for his transfer to be agreed in due course, since he really wants to join.

Of course, going into a season with just one striker available is far from ideal, but the Reds could certainly make it work temporarily if they really needed to. There are options to try and utilise.

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One idea currently on the table is to bring a winger in this transfer window instead, since Luis Diaz hasn't been formally replaced. Rio Ngumoha has been called up from the academy in his place.

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Meanwhile, another is to keep the cash and wait for a more opportune moment to get Isak finalised.

Isak to follow the Van Dijk blueprint?

Given how much Isak has damaged his reputation on Tyneside, it appears as though a move to Liverpool is now inevitable, just like how Philippe Coutinho's transfer to Barcelona was always likely.

That specific analogy was in reference to a team letting a crucial player go during the January transfer window, with Liverpool losing out. However, we could look at Isak joining through the perspective of the Virgil Van Dijk's move from Southampton to Liverpool in the winter of 2018.

Chris Bascombe for The Telegraph has been mulling over this very possibility in his latest report.

He said: "...Ekitike might allow Liverpool the luxury of adopting the same patient approach with Isak as they did with Van Dijk in the summer of 2017 - denied his signature in the short term in the knowledge [that] once a player has set his mind on an Anfield move, it is usually a case of when, not if, he joins.

"Van Dijk's six month delay before signing, after Southampton stood firm, was soon forgotten once the Dutchman began his journey to legendary status."

And if we're honest, it's plausible that Isak could have just as significant an impact on the team.

He's in the prime of his career, we have a clear track-record to look back on in terms of his success in front of goal, delivering consistent attacking returns and he's pretty clinical when gets a chance.

Ekitike's transfer fee doesn't have to make a difference to how Arne Slot decides to use him. If Isak joins, he might become a 'back-up' as some have claimed, or he might just be a more flexible asset, able to feature on the left-wing on occasion if Liverpool desperately need him to.

In terms of making it happen, Liverpool would need to call upon Jayden Danns as a back-up striker and Florian Wirtz might have to facilitate Ngumoha's left-wing minutes being managed as well.

Another caveat might be that the Reds aren't quite as on it as we expect them to be, given the new signings, because injuries are likely to hit the team harder than they'd him most with squad depth.

But the boost of getting Isak in January would certainly be something worth waiting for, although in this instance, Newcastle might have managed to convince him to sign a new contract by that point.

Most certainly, it would be a risk. The loyalty that Van Dijk showed to us during his transfer saga was incredibly noble and you would hope that Isak might do the same. But his conduct throughout this summer has been a little bit questionable, given how easily he was able to defy Eddie Howe's orders.

As such, it's definitely not going to be a strategy that Liverpool will be eager to deploy, but if the situation becomes drastic in the last few days of August then it might be an ideal back-up plan.