‘Best transfer window of all time’ – Why Liverpool can avoid PSR issues and break British transfer record for Alexander Isak

‘The Reds have got no money and we’re gonna win the league’ was the chant when Liverpool went 2-0 up against Newcastle in February.

Ironically, five months later, Arne Slot’s men could find themselves two-up over the Magpies in the transfer market – but a lack of cash is certainly no longer on the Anfield agenda.

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Having already beaten the Toon Army to the £79million signing of Hugo Ekitike, Liverpool are also hoping to land Alexander Isak.

The Reds have already smashed the British transfer for Florian Wirtz and talkSPORT understands they are willing to do so again for the Newcastle superstar.

In total, Liverpool have splashed out close to £300m on Jeremie Frimpong, Ekitike, Wirtz and Milos Kerkez.

A deal for Isak would see the Merseysiders break the record for the highest spend from any club in a single transfer window.

That feat is still held by Chelsea’s £391m spree on 11 signings, including Moises Caicedo and Cole Palmer, in the summer of 2023/24.

The Blues have a case for boasting the most successful single transfer window of all time, whether it be the arrivals of Didier Drogba, Ricardo Carvalho, Arjen Robben, and Petr Cech under Jose Mourinho in 04/05 – or indeed, the likes of Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas once the Special One returned to Stamford Bridge.

A year after Real Madrid’s £233m eight-man 2009 window, Mourinho even inherited the all-star Galacticos: Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Xabi Alonso, and Karim Benzema.

However, Rory Jennings believes Liverpool’s ability to blend marquee signings with genuine upgrades to key areas puts them out ahead.

He told talkSPORT: “I just think that overall, this window, it’s got a bit of everything.

“And if they end up signing the best striker in the Premier League, Alexander Isak, as well, I mean, I think this could be the best and most complete transfer window of all time.”

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How have we got here?

“The Reds have got no money, but we’ll still win the league” has been a tune belting out around the Kop since 2021.

A sideswipe at Liverpool’s owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), for not spending as frequently, or lavishly, as Manchester City or Chelsea.

The rebuttal has been that, in addition to having one of the highest wage bills in the Premier League, when there has been a chance to spend big on a potential game-changer, FSG have.

Record-breaking fees were paid for Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker under Jurgen Klopp, with an attempt at another for Caicedo.

FSG, who installed data-driven ‘Moneyball’ practices at Anfield, have always stated that Liverpool has to be self-sufficient as a club.

Van Dijk and Alisson’s fees were both offset by the £142m accrued from Barcelona for Philippe Coutinho, but despite the running joke online, that is certainly not funding this summer’s activity.

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Why are Liverpool not breaching PSR?

The Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations state that a club is not allowed to make a loss of more than £105m over a three-year period – and even less under the UEFA threshold (up to a maximum of £75m).

Liverpool have never been close to failing PSR, and the frugal outlays in recent years have proved particularly beneficial this summer.

Federico Chiesa was the only expenditure 12 months ago, for £12.5m, with nothing spent across the past two winter windows.

The lack of signings did not impact Slot’s men, with Liverpool earning £175m in prize money for winning the Premier League in May.

Last season was the club’s first full campaign with an expanded Anfield Road End – thus a higher capacity at 61,000-plus fans, and greater matchday revenue.

At the start of August, Liverpool will begin their new kit deal with Adidas, which has been valued at £60m per season, more than their current partnership with Nike.

Those factors, alongside that careful approach to transfers, are paying dividends now, according to finance expert Kieran Maguire.

“Liverpool are in an incredibly strong position,” he told talkSPORT.

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“First of all, in terms of the money coming in at Anfield, they now have an expanded stadium and the new tickets and the new seats that are available are going to the hospitality, to going to corporate fans and the yield there tends to be very high.

“They’ve got the new shirt deal, which comes in on August 1 with Adidas, that’s going to be a substantial increase.

“They are incredibly popular with sponsors, and the sponsors will have paid bonuses for them winning the Premier League, so all of those are positives in terms of the money coming in.

“If you look at the players that have gone… Trent [Alexander-Arnold] has gone, he was on a very high wage, [Jarell] Quansah has gone – that will be pure profit. So they’re actually in a strong position.

“And then I’ve got the figures in front of me in terms of spending and all of the old-school ‘big six,’ Liverpool were sixth in the position [of net spend] over the course of the last three to four years.

“So they’ve actually been keeping their powder dry relatively to the other clubs.

“They spent a billion pounds less than Chelsea during that period.

“So they’re actually in the position to spend now because they’ve been quite cautious in the last couple of windows.”

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Do Liverpool need to sell to afford Isak?

The short and simple answer is no, they don’t.

Now, Liverpool will indeed boost coffers from moving on fringe players, but deals will be done from a perspective of surplus to requirements and maximising transfer values, rather than a need to cover their own spending.

They have made it clear they are willing to sell Darwin Nunez, although their £60m asking price put Napoli off pursuing a deal.

Other possible departures include Harvey Elliott – who Liverpool value in excess of £40m – and West Ham target Tyler Morton.

Bayern Munich are also keen to prise Luis Diaz away from Merseyside, with the Bundesliga giants having a bid of around £60m rejected.

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Yet, a British record outlay on Isak could theoretically be completed without any of those sales or other outgoings.

Similar to how Chelsea spread the cost of £200m duo Enzo Fernandez and Caicedo through a process called amortisation.

Even if Newcastle convinced Liverpool to stump up £150m for Isak, that fee would be amortised over five years (the maximum under Premier League and UEFA PSR), meaning only £30m would hit the accounts this year.

That would be further reduced to £24m per year should the Reds manage to snare the Swede for £120m.

Ultimately, the total amortised costs added to Liverpool’s balance sheet for 2025/26 would be between £60-70m.