Alexander Isak told reality of Liverpool situation as Arne Slot gets two transfer instructions

Michael Owen has warned Alexander Isak that he may not walk into Liverpool's starting XI if he gets his move. The Newcastle United striker revealed on Tuesday evening that he wants to leave his current club after a drawn-out transfer saga.

Isak claimed that promises made by the club had been broken as he hopes to explore his options away from St James' Park, in a blistering social media statement. It comes after the 25-year-old was absent from Newcastle's pre-season tour of Asia, and was instructed to train alone when he returned to Tyneside earlier this month.

The talisman is reportedly refusing to turn out for the Magpies again in a bid to quickly ensure a move, but club legend Owen has warned him that the grass may not be greener on Merseyside. Speaking exclusively to Mirror Football via 247Bet, the 45-year-old, who played for the Reds between 1996 and 2004, said: "I mean, you look at Liverpool’s front three.

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"Nobody's going to take Mohamed Salah's place, Cody Gakpo ’s probably been the most improved player. He's played exceptionally well on the left, and then you've got [Hugo] Ekitike that looks an absolute brilliant signing.

"I mean, in two games he's played, he's been right up there, probably Man of the Match in both games. So it's hard to see anybody breaking through and getting into the team from that point of view."

Having clinched the Premier League Golden Boot with 29 goals last term, Salah is showing no signs of slowing down and remains one of the first names on Arne Slot's team-sheet at present. Gakpo has also started the new season bright, scoring in Liverpool's 4-2 opening night win over Bournemouth last week.

Ekitike, meanwhile, is a fresh face at Anfield but has hit the ground running since his £79million move from Eintracht Frankfurt this summer. The centre-forward found the back of the net in the Reds' Community Shield clash with Crystal Palace earlier this month, before opening the scoring for his side against Bournemouth.

Isak's arrival in the north west will leave Slot with a substantial headache, given that his front three are practically unplayable at present and will take some shifting if they carry on in their current vein of form. However, Owen did admit that Slot is still lacking depth within his squad in two positions in particular.

He added: "We all know the tragic situation with Diogo Jota, and then [Darwin] Nunez left, and then [Luis] Diaz as well. So Liverpool are down three players out of those, and definitely need reinforcements.

"I mean, [Federico] Chiesa came on and scored [against Bournemouth], but he was sort of sixth choice out of those three positions last season. All of a sudden, he's possibly fourth.

"So you would say that Liverpool need at least one more attacking player to play in one of those positions, whether that's a starting player or a player to come on and change things. But they are quite light, despite all the transfers that they've had, they still probably need a centre-half and an attacking player."

It comes as Liverpool are currently in pursuit of Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi as they look to add depth in their backline. While Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are thought to be the Dutchman's first choices, the squad looks quite bare in reserve, especially after the recent departure of Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen.

Isak could ultimately prove fruitful either as a starting striker under Slot or as a rotational player alongside Ekitike, but given the fee that Liverpool may have to cough up to sign the Swede, they would be wise not to deploy him from the bench.

Liverpool saw an initial bid of £110million plus add-ons rejected for Isak earlier this month, with the Magpies valuing him at around £150m. But with Isak's recent comments signalling that he is looking for the exit on Tyneside, Newcastle may offer a little wiggle room on their valuation to offload the player who seemingly has no future with his current club.

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