ALEXANDER ISAK could become the Premier League’s most expensive transfer of all-time this summer as he tries to force through a move to Liverpool.
But despite his mammoth price tag, Isak wouldn’t even touch the top 20 Prem signings ever when adjusted for inflation.
Isak is training alone at his former club Real Sociedad after he informed Newcastle of his desire to leave St James’ Park before the transfer deadline.
The Magpies are thought to want a whopping £150MILLION for their star man, but Liverpool reportedly believe they can chip that deal down to a more affordable £120m figure.
Even £120m would represent the largest figure ever spent by a Premier League club, topping the current record of £116m – also set by Liverpool this window when they signed Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.
But thanks to football finance experts Valuball, that transfer fee can be put into context with transfer inflation.
Their algorithm for figuring out the rate of inflation in football transfers means that £120m isn’t even close to being a record fee in real terms.
That title would be held by Alan Shearer, whose £15m move from Blackburn to Newcastle United in 1996 would be worth an eye-watering £225MILLION in today’s money.
Liverpool would still hold the second largest fee thanks to their £8.5m move to sign Stan Collymore from Nottingham Forest in 1995.
That switch was the equivalent of £219m in the modern-day market.
Arsenal’s move for Inter Milan’s Dennis Bergkamp represents the third most expensive deal in Premier League history, with the Dutchman’s switch worth £189m.
Manchester United have four players in the top 10 with Juan Sebastian Veron (£175m), Rio Ferdinand (£165m), Andy Cole (£159m) and Paul Pogba (£145m) all worth a fortune in today’s fees.
Chelsea’s signings of Fernando Torres for £50m in 2011 and Andriy Shevchenko for £31m in 2006 are worth £154m and £142m respectively these days, putting them both in the top 10 too.
Isak’s potential £120m deal would mean he wouldn’t even break the top 20 in the list.
Moises Caicedo’s £115m move to Chelsea in 2023 currently stands in 20th spot, having been valued at £124m this summer.
However, if Newcastle can convince the Reds to splash out £150m on Isak then he would rocket up to ninth in the all-time list – sitting between Pogba’s move to Man Utd and Torres’ switch to Stamford Bridge.
It looks as if that could be the way thing are heading too, after the Toon’s top brass rejected Liverpool’s first bid for Isak this week.
Reports suggest that the Merseyside outfit lodged a bid worth around £120m.
Newcastle are desperate for their star man to stay and have offered him a new, improved deal.
The contract also includes a release clause that would allow Isak to leave next summer.
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