How can Liverpool afford Isak after spending so much?

Alexander Isak joined Newcastle from Real Sociedad in 2022 for £63m

Liverpool have spent more than £170m this summer already - and now are interested in a player they would have to break the British transfer record to sign.

With a package for Newcastle United's Alexander Isak thought to cost up to £130m, their summer spending would soar to £300m.

It's quite the jump.

The Premier League champions last year spent just £10m on Italy winger Federico Chiesa and £25m on Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili in last year's summer window.

Liverpool have already signed midfielder Florian Wirtz in a potential British record £116m deal this summer and paid £40m and £30m respectively for full-backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong.

Their sights are now firmly set on a striker.

BBC Sport understands that, while Liverpool have explored other centre-forward targets, they have made a move towards a deal for Isak in recent days.

While he remains the dream target, the Reds also have serious interest in Hugo Ekitike for whom Newcastle had a £70m bid turned down on Tuesday by Eintracht Frankfurt.

Liverpool have also checked in on Brentford's Yoane Wissa and Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins as they work through a range of striker options.

So how can Arne Slot's side afford to spend so much on players, and do they have the budget to spend even more?

Can Liverpool afford Isak?

Liverpool's income has been boosted this year thanks to several key factors.

They received £175m in prize money for winning the Premier League; last season was the club's first full campaign with an expanded Anfield Road End and a higher capacity; and from 1 August they have a new kit deal with Adidas which some reports value at £60m per season, more than their current partnership with Nike.

Those factors, combined with comparatively low transfer spending in previous windows, mean Liverpool find themselves well within the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules (PSR) which limit clubs to losses of £105m over three years.

"Liverpool are a super smart football club," football finance expert Kieran Maguire told BBC Sport.

"They're in an incredibly strong PSR position. Out of the traditional big six clubs, they've spent the least in this three-year cycle - only £325m - and that includes their signing of Florian Wirtz.

"They've still got plenty of wiggle room with their transfer budget. Plus, a move for a striker is likely to be paid in instalments, meaning the cost can be spread over multiple seasons."

Their position could be further boosted. On Tuesday they rejected a £58.6m opening offer from Bayern Munich for forward Luis Diaz.

While Liverpool have said Diaz is not for sale, they are understood to be open to selling Darwin Nunez, who has interest from Napoli and Saudi Arabia.

'Liverpool's model has been to ignore the noise'

As shown in the graph above, in the three seasons prior to 2024-25 Liverpool made net transfer spends of -£17.8m, £92.5m and £49.8m.

For context, Manchester United have had a net spend of £119m, £133m and £190m over their past three campaigns.

"Liverpool have been outside the top-10 spenders on player signings since 2019, but their model is a classic case of being smarter rather than bigger," said Maguire.

"Liverpool's model has been to ignore the noise and only buy a player if they truly improve the squad. It's a Moneyball, more analytical approach.

"Chief executive Michael Edwards does a brilliant job and he never buys players because of external pressure. He doesn't get jittery when fans call for more signings.

"Wirtz, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and potentially Isak are big signings, but they all improve the Liverpool squad, and the Reds do have an awful lot of PSR headroom."

Last month, former Reds boss Jurgen Klopp described the £116m potential fee for Wirtz as "insane".

Klopp, who won the Champions League and Premier League during a nine-year spell at Anfield before he left in the summer of 2024, felt transfer fees were rising at a rapid rate.

"I know I once said I'm out if we pay 100m euros for a player, but the world keeps changing - that's how the market is," he said.

Before Wirtz's arrival, Nunez had been the club's record signing, joining from Benfica in June 2022 in a deal that could be worth up to £85m.

But Klopp's big signings were largely spread out across different transfer windows during his time at the club.

The Reds signed defender Virgil van Dijk for £75m from Southampton in January 2018, goalkeeper Alisson from Roma for £66.8m in July 2018 and midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai for £60m from RB Leipzig in July 2023.

Who else could be interested in Isak?

Newcastle have maintained throughout the summer that their top players - and Isak is certainly one of those - are not for sale.

Indeed, like Liverpool, Newcastle - who are owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) - are in a comfortable PSR position.

Isak has three years left on his contract, so the Swede would most likely have to actively push for a move.

Apart from Liverpool, few other clubs in the market for a striker could afford Isak's reported £130m price tag.

"As the most profitable club in Premier League history, Arsenal could easily spend over £200m in the window and have no PSR concerns," said Maguire.

Despite Isak having been linked with a move to Arsenal, the Gunners are instead expected to reach a full agreement with Sporting for the 73.5m euros (£63.5m) signing of striker Viktor Gyokeres this summer.

Manchester City are unlikely to be in the market for a striker, with Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush under lengthy contracts.

It seems doubtful that United would be able to afford Isak's fee without significant player sales, having missed out on Champions League football next season.

Chelsea have bought strikers Liam Delap and Joao Pedro this window.

"In theory, Tottenham could also afford Isak," said Maguire. "But whether the player would want to move from a team who finished fifth to one who finished 17th is a whole other story."