Liverpool’s former director of research, Ian Graham, has disclosed that Jurgen Klopp opted against signing Alexander Isak in favour of Darwin Nunez in 2022, despite the Swedish forward being available for significantly less.
Speaking in an interview, Graham explained that Klopp exercised personal preference at a time when data analysis had pointed strongly towards Isak as a top target.
Isak, who is of Eritrean descent and now a key player at Newcastle United, was then playing for Real Sociedad and could have been signed for around £63 million. L
iverpool instead paid over £85 million to secure the services of Nunez from Benfica. Today, Isak’s valuation has reportedly soared to £150 million following his standout displays in the Premier League.
“In 2022, he signed Darwin Nunez instead of Alexander Isak,” Graham told the Financial Times. “Both players, if you look at top young centre-forwards in Europe, they would be number one and two — or two and three — but Haaland was going to City and out of our price range. Jurgen preferred Nunez.”
Graham acknowledged that Klopp’s authority in such decisions was understandable given his success at the club.
He recalled how the manager had previously allowed data to influence major decisions, including the signing of Mohamed Salah in 2017.
“I’m happy to talk about my colleagues persuading Jurgen that Mohamed Salah was the player to buy instead of Julian Brandt,” he said.
The revelation highlights the evolving dynamics between analytics and traditional managerial instinct at elite football clubs.
While Graham stood by the club’s analytical credentials, he defended Klopp’s call, noting that Nunez was still among Europe’s best young strikers.
“It would be very churlish of me to say, ‘It’s terrible that Jurgen had his choice’… and it was still the case that we signed good players,” he concluded.
