Sky Sports takes a look at the striker tug of war going on at Newcastle and Liverpool involving Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike – and answers the key questions on the transfer saga.

Which striker are Liverpool going for: Isak or Ekitike?

Liverpool appear to be focusing on a deal for Hugo Ekitike after being told by Newcastle that Isak is not for sale.

A day after Newcastle saw a club-record £70m bid for Ekitike rejected, the Reds opened talks with Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday.

Sky Sports News has always believed that Isak is Liverpool’s first-choice striker target – but Ekitike has always been among their leading alternatives.

His game is very similar to Isak’s and he would be cheaper, yet with potential to become one of the Premier League’s marquee strikers after a successful year in Germany.

How can Liverpool afford to sign a striker after signing Florian Wirtz?

Liverpool’s relative lack of activity in the last few windows is a key reason why their finances are healthy.

The club’s financial records indicated they could potentially lose a further £200m this summer and still be compliant with Profit & Sustainability Rules (PSR) – where clubs are permitted to lose £105m over a three-year period.

According to football finance expert Swiss Ramble, the Reds’ most recent financial results showed Liverpool have actually made £48m in the current three-year PSR period, partly due to modest recent transfer spend.

That means Liverpool can lose a further £158m and still be compliant next summer.

And while Liverpool have already spent around £185m on new players in the current window – including a fee of up to £116m for Florian Wirtz – the Reds posted a club record revenue of £613.8m for the 2023-24 season, partly due to commercial success.

That figure will only increase on the 2024-25 season accounts given Liverpool added Champions League football, knockout qualification for that tournament and also became Premier League champions.

Academy product Jarell Quansah has already joined Bayer Leverkusen in a £35m deal that represents 100 per cent profit under PSR rules, and the Reds could further boost sales figures by the end of the summer.

Darwin Nunez, Harvey Elliott and Luiz Diaz are all further potential departures, although a Diaz exit is currently less likely despite Bayern Munich’s attempts to prise him away.

Do Newcastle have a dilemma?

While the situation around the two clubs and the two strikers concerned is complicated, many have already simplified the situation to Liverpool presenting Newcastle with this dilemma: sell us your star striker or we’ll move for your main striker target instead.

Given Ekitike has always been a player Liverpool have wanted, and Newcastle have stood firm on Isak, it is more likely that Liverpool have made one final check on whether Isak is possible before putting their eggs into the Ekitike basket.

As Premier League title winners, Liverpool are attractive potential employers.

But timing is key for Newcastle, who tried to sign Ekitike in summer 2022, before he decided to go to PSG.

If Isak doesn’t go this summer, the Swedish international is very likely to go next year.

Recruiting Ekitike now would allow Newcastle to get him up to speed this season before he potentially takes over the mantle of the main man next summer. It would also give Newcastle the freedom to make a choice on Isak because buying Ekitike (or any other striker) would be cheaper now than after the prospect of a record sale to Liverpool. Clubs would know Newcastle have money to burn and would up their prices.

The Magpies have already missed out on Liam Delap and Joao Pedro – both to Chelsea – and may now have to go back to the drawing board again.

However, if they are gazumped again, there are plenty more top options on the market, including Benjamin Sesko and Yoane Wissa.

Newcastle have plenty of strategic thinking to do.

Could Isak and Ekitike really play together?

It’s a fascinating proposition, were the pendulum to swing back in Newcastle’s favour.

Whether Eddie Howe was looking at a 4-2-4 with Anthony Elanga and Anthony Gordon flanking the duo on the wings, or moving one star forward out wide to utilise them both, we might never know.

But Ekitike would unlikely have been signed to sit on the bench, with the plan for him to complement Isak – this season at least – as had been the hope for Joao Pedro before he opted for Chelsea instead.

Isak and Ekitike are very similar players. Not only are the striker pair’s league numbers last season almost identical, but they also adopt similar areas of the pitch.

Ekitike’s heat and pass maps hints at them doing many of the same things – dropping deep towards the centre circle but maintaining a penalty box presence.

With Champions League football and so many games, it would probably have been more likely that they were interchangeable than deployable as a front two.

If Liverpool don’t get Isak or Ekitike, then who could they move for instead?

Jamie Carragher said earlier this summer Liverpool need a centre forward and they have wanted to make a change in that position by allowing Darwin Nunez to potentially leave.

It looks now as though they will push for Ekitike and have a good chance of getting him – but it is still possible they end up with neither.

It will certainly take more than what would have been a Newcastle club-record bid of £70m to get Ekitike out of Frankfurt.

There is no shortage of striker options in the current market. Victor Osimhen is certainly a player Liverpool have had on their radar for a while as well as Benjamin Sesko.

Another player the Reds have been reportedly linked with is Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, who was a target for Arsenal in January, but he is 29 and would present a shift in direction.

Liverpool’s move for Ekitike has been given greater encouragement than Newcastle’s as it stands but in football – not least in the transfer window – there are no guarantees. One phone call and suddenly everything shifts…

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