Liverpool make contact to sign someone even BETTER than Alexander Isak

Liverpool have now made a move to sign a forward who could become even better than Alexander Isak.

We all know the Swedish striker is the club's number one target. That's largely because Isak is a proven Premier League goal-scorer, who has been one of the best forwards in the league for the last two seasons.

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But because he is such a proven striker entering the prime years of his career, his value is also very high. Meanwhile, Newcastle United's desire to sell him is very low.

Isak is on a long-term contract with three years left on his current deal. There will be no incentives to sell him, even for a huge figure. Especially to someone who Newcastle will consider a rival.

So while the Isak dream is still alive until Newcastle say it's completely off the table, which they haven't done yet. But in the meantime Liverpool are working on other targets.

Times have changed when there was only on target. Now there are alternative options and one of the club's alternative option who they have made contact to sign could be even better than Isak in the coming years.

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According to The Athletic Liverpool have made contact to sign Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt as they explore their options in the market.

Ekitike has been of interest to Liverpool for several months. As Anfield Watch exclusively revealed Liverpool have been in talks to sign Ekitike since April.

Ekitike is three years younger than Isak and there is a potential for him to become even better than the Swedish international. Here is why:

One thing that has been said against Ekitike has been his underperformance in xG this season. Ekitike has underperformed his xG by -6.61.

But this is a figure that's actually massively influenced by the fact that he's missed two penalties this season. And if we stretch those numbers out to all competitions this season - he's underperformance is only -1.67.

Even in the Bundesliga he's only underperforming his non-penalty xG by -0.10 per 90 minutes.

None of this will be a concern to Liverpool. The club's scouts will be looking at Ekitike way beyond the xG and seeing how well he would fit into Slot's set-up and what his potential is.

The reality is that his link-up play and his ability to progress the ball makes him the perfect fit alongside Florian Wirtz and Mohamed Salah.

Ekitike's 16.67% goal conversion can be improved, but it’s important to note that Ekitike is still young and this area of a striker’s game often develops at a later age when they mature.

Take Isak as an example. At the same age as Ekitike, while he was playing in La Liga for Real Sociedad, he had a goal conversion rate of just 8.33% during the 2021/22 campaign prior to his move to the Premier League, where he’s not averaging a 29.39% goal conversion rate.

Isak is a great example when it comes to xG as well. In that final season with Sociedad he ranked in the top 10 forwards in La Liga for xG (10.73).

Yet he scored just six goals in La Liga during the 2021/22 campaign - he underperformed his xG by a whopping -4.73.

These are similar numbers to Ekitike, especially from open play and he's proven over time he could improve his finishing.

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Ekitike has the potential to do the same and if he does, he could become even better than the Newcastle forward.

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