Empire of the Kop
·18 March 2025
What Alexander Isak said to Van Dijk after Carabao final will have Liverpool fans talking

Empire of the Kop
·18 March 2025
Alexander Isak and Virgil van Dijk were spotted exchanging some friendly words after the Carabao Cup final.
Liverpool fell short of securing a first piece of silverware of the season to mark the Arne Slot era, with the Sweden international registering his second goal of the season against the Reds.
‘Big proposals’ are anticipated for the 25-year-old hitman ahead of the opening of the summer transfer window on June 12.
Deservedly so for Isak, should he desire a change of scenery, after what has already been a tremendous 2024/25 season, with 19 goals and five assists conjured in 25 Premier League appearances.
(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Hopeful Liverpool fans could be forgiven for raising a brow at the scenes that unfolded post-match at the weekend.
The reported Reds target, who once again proved his worth to Arne Slot in the cup final, was spotted sharing a few brief words with captain Virgil van Dijk after the final whistle.
One more objectively-minded supporter (and would-be lip reader) reasonably suggested Alexander Isak was merely wishing the Dutch centre-half well for the rest of the season.
From our point of view, here at Empire of the Kop, that seems the likeliest possibility, as much as we’d love to tell ourselves the No.14 was making a plea to join the club this summer.
Either way, given it’s not totally clear what the attacker actually said to Van Dijk, it’s sure to be an ongoing topic of conversation within the fanbase.
Without wishing to jinx the remainder of our campaign, we’ve a pretty fantastic chance of securing our first Premier League title since the 2019/20 season.
With that, we would hope, comes some added perks with regard to our impending efforts in the summer transfer window.
It’s another year of Champions League football for one, which could prove doubly advantageous should Newcastle also manage to miss out on a place for the 2025/26 season. Also, the prospect of playing for the potential English top-flight champions has to be appealing when looking to steal a march on Arsenal for Isak’s signature.
Having been supremely cost-effective in recent windows, we’d certainly hope that we’d at least have the funds ready to contest any other possible suitors this summer.
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