Liverpool’s £110M bid was quickly rejected by the Magpies earlier this month and since then the Swedish striker has protested against the club who are unwilling to sell him before a replacement is found this summer. With no progress in sight and less than 10 days left in the transfer window, Isak is trapped with no solution in sight.
Isak's price is too high?
Carragher wrote in his Telegraph column that if his former side did make a bid of £130M+ for the 25-year-old then it would be far too much and he would expect the best of the best such as Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe for such a price.
"I would like to see the Swedish striker become a Liverpool player, but not at any cost, and the suggestion that the first £110m offer for Isak is 'derisory' is divorced from reality. If Liverpool bid more than £130M, it is too much. You would want Kylian Mbappe for the fee."
"From the moment Isak made his debut against Liverpool at Anfield, he has stood out, but there are concerns. Now 25, he is yet to prove he has the durability of Salah.
“He has failed to start 36 league games over his three seasons in England and 10 of his last 44 league goals were penalties. He would not be taking them at Anfield."
Liverpool must be ruthless
Carragher stressed that the Reds must act quickly as Isak’s future is still up in the air. If they are to land their man then a bid would have to come over the next week and it would have to smash the British transfer record set by the club for Florian Wirtz earlier this summer.
"Slot will not defend the crown with only three out-and-out attackers of Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Hugo Ekitike," he said. "They cannot carry the goalscoring burden without at least one more, preferably two, top-class operators across the front line, especially as Salah will be on Africa Cup of Nations duty in December.
“Liverpool must be ruthless. It cannot be 'Isak or no one'. Whatever their plan B is, they need to start thinking about executing it. When Liverpool sold Luis Díaz, such is the trust in those in charge of their strategy there was an assumption they had a younger replacement lined up."