‘Growing interest’: Richard Hughes may already be lining up phenomenal Nunez replacement

It’s becoming a matter of inevitability that Darwin Nunez will depart Liverpool in the summer transfer window.The No.9’s Anfield career has stagnated somewhat under Arne Slot, and recent accusations of a limited work rate will have hardly done the footballer any favours in that regard.Fabrizio Romano reported this morning that the Uruguayan’s potential exit at the end of the season is a ‘concrete possibility’.So, the only question that remains is how sporting director Richard Hughes will be looking to fill that particular void at Liverpool in the next window.Liverpool could turn to Alexander Isak to replace Darwin NunezCould Alexander Isak’s days at Newcastle be numbered? – (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)Alexander Isak is likely to have no shortage of potential suitors should it become clear that his services are up for grabs.Arsenal have been repeatedly linked with the striker in recent months amid their own struggles up top, and Liverpool have likewise since entered the conversation.“Isak has a deal at St James’ Park until 2028. Eddie Howe described contract talks with Isak as a “complex situation” late last year. He is earning about £140,000 a week, high for Newcastle, low for his growing status,” Martin Hardy shared in an update with The Times.“Arsenal have long been mentioned as suitors but Liverpool too are said to have a growing interest.”A ‘growing interest,’ you say? And why shouldn’t the Reds be keeping an eye on the 25-year-old?FBref currently consider the Swede one of the most lethal strikers in Europe, racking up a 95th percentile ranking for xG in comparison to his positional peers in the continent’s top five leagues.Isak’s not half bad at everything else either, ranking in the 92nd percentile for progressive carries and successful take-ons, in the 88th percentile for xAG, and 87th percentile for touches in the opposing box.He’s increasingly looking like the total package – surely he has to be somewhere on the shortlist at Liverpool!Certainly, if it came to a straight up battle between ourselves and Arsenal for his signature, you’d hope we’d hold the advantage.Join our channel of readers on WhatsApp to get the day’s top stories straight to your mobile