Isak Move Suggests a Shift in FSG’s Thinking | OneFootball

When it comes to supporting Liverpool, there are largely two different camps that people fit into. Firstly, there is the match-going supporter, in which you can also include people who never miss a game thanks to the world of streaming and television broadcasting.

Then there is the world of people who exist almost entirely online, constantly posting about the Reds, uploading TikToks and Tweeting every five minutes about what the club is up to. How you perceive Fenway Sports Group might largely boil down to which of those sets you fit into, but do the Alexander Isak rumours change anything?

What’s Happened

Over the past 24 hours or so, news has emerged of Liverpool reportedly letting Arabian-owned Newcastle United know that they would be willing to spend upwards of £120 million in order to secure the signature of the Magpies’ striker, Alexander Isak. Newcastle have reiterated their stance that the Swedish international is not for sale at any price, but the Reds wouldn’t have made such a move public if they hadn’t been given some sort of encouragement from the player’s camp. There is, of course, a world in which he is just trying to get Newcastle to up his wages, but that doesn’t seem likely.

Instead, what seems much more likely to be the case is the idea that Isak has spent the past couple of weeks thinking about his future and is aware of the fact that he is unlikely to win any of the big trophies with the Geordies. Sure, Eddie Howe has added some silverware to the cabinet by beating Liverpool in the League Cup final, but he is a limited manager who is never going to be challenging for the likes of the Premier League title or the Champions League trophy. Arne Slot, on the other hand, has proven that he improves players and is a world-class manager who anyone would want to work with.

Is it a Change of Direction?

There will be many who will tell you that Fenway Sports Group have been miserly owners of Liverpool. Those that constantly send Tweets saying the likes of ‘#FSGOUT’ will suggest that the Americans have refused to open their purse strings ever since they arrived at Anfield, in spite of the fact that they have done so repeatedly. For such people, the fact that the Reds haven’t signed players willy-nilly like Chelsea or spunked money up the wall as if there are no rules in place (hello Manchester City) means that the owners have been far too frugal, rather than operated in a sensible manner.

The truth of the matter is that the owners have run the club well on a financial front. Yes, a little bit more money could’ve been spent now and then, but the idea that they have been skinflints is laughable. You need only look at the fact that the entire squad is made up of new players to see that they have spent money when needed. They spent a then world record fee for a defender on Virgil van Dijk and a then world record fee for a goalkeeper on Alisson Becker, as well as having been willing to spend huge sums on both Moisés Caicedo and Martín Zubamendi, proving their haters completely wrong.

Liverpool Acting Like a Big Club

What Liverpool have done repeatedly under the ownership of FSG is act in the market when they have needed to, but accepted no compromises. When van Dijk wasn’t available in the summer that the Reds upset Southampton over a move for him, they didn’t panic and buy any old defender. Instead, they waited and eventually got their man. When Zubimendi turned down the move to Anfield last year, they didn’t spend money getting in any old defensive midfielder and instead converted Ryan Gravenberch for the position, which turned out very well indeed when you look at how he performed.

What we’re seeing now from the Reds is them acting like the big club that they are. They kept their powder dry last summer, giving Arne Slot the chance to prove that he is a brilliant manager, which would then convince other players to join up with him and his squad for the 2025-2026 campaign. Even if the move for Isak doesn’t come off, which is entirely possible when you consider the fact that Newcastle will be desperate to keep hold of him, it is still really good to see Liverpool trying to improve from a position of strength. It might also hint at a belief that Manchester City’s period of dominance is over, with the Reds ready to take on the mantle.