Liverpool have their sights set on signing a new Newcastle player. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
It’s no secret that Liverpool want to sign at least one central defender in 2026, given the potential departures of Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez. This has prompted the club to draw up a shortlist of candidates, and one of the candidates they are considering is familiar with recent signing Alexander Isak.
Isak joined Liverpool on the final day of the summer transfer window for the biggest transfer fee in English history, reportedly worth around £125 million. The turmoil surrounding him has caused a lot of backlash at Newcastle, and the same situation could be repeated in 2026 – and not only because of the player the Swedish striker was very close to during his time at St James’ Park.
Liverpool set their sights on Sven Botman transfer
As reported by Mark Bulls of the Daily Briefing, Liverpool have Sven Botman on their shortlist, with the Dutch central defender being highly regarded among Anfield insiders and considering him in the recent summer transfer window.
Botman has had a difficult 12 months at Newcastle, given that he has been regularly injured. However, his fortunes have improved in recent weeks and he has been included in the starting XI for the last five games, with Eddie Howe’s side keeping clean sheets in three of those games.
Botman had an excellent first season at Newcastle in 2022-23 and is starting to return to that level despite a number of injuries. In this respect, it is understandable that Liverpool see him as a good candidate to sign in 2026.
However, Newcastle are almost certain to make it extremely difficult for Liverpool to sign Botman, given their feelings towards the reigning Premier League champions as a result of the Isaac saga. In addition to this, Howe has also made it clear that he wants to keep the defender.