Liverpool 'behaving like Sir Ferguson's Man Utd' with bold new transfer strategy

Liverpool's historic transfer spend has represented a huge shift in strategy with Jamie Carragher comparing them to Real Madrid and Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson

Jamie Carragher claims Liverpool's signing of Alexander Isak is reminiscent of "Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson seemed able to sign any top-performing Premier League player he fancied" as he accepted there has been a shift in the team's approach.

The Reds broke the British-transfer record for the second time in one summer by spending £125million to land the striker from Newcastle. It comes weeks after they'd also spent £116m to get Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.

Isak is viewed among the best strikers in Europe and Liverpool have been able to jump to the front of the queue to sign the Swede, who was also of interest to the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea in the past, but they baulked at the fee being quoted.

Liverpool's overall summer spend has exceeded £400m with Hugo Ekitike and Jeremie Frimpong also among their new arrivals. Carragher played at Anfield when they had to be savvy with recruitment and couldn't compete financially with their rivals, but knows that is no longer the case.

He said in the Telegraph : "Seeing the club spend over £400m in one transfer window represents a bold new world for those of us emotionally invested in the Merseyside club.

"On the back of signing Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, Liverpool are behaving more like Real Madrid under Florentino Pérez, Barcelona at their peak, Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson seemed able to sign any top-performing Premier League player he fancied, or Chelsea and Manchester City in the first transfer windows after their respective Roman Abramovich and Abu Dhabi takeovers.

"The Fenway Sports Group policy under Jurgen Klopp was geared towards creating superstars, not recruiting those who have already established their credentials elsewhere."

Carragher was keen to highlight that more than £200m has been recouped with sales and this free-spending nature is unlikely to be annual thing. But such investment means that huge things are expected with Liverpool expected to retain the Premier League and go close in the Champions League.

Isak and Wirtz are among the most expensive players in the game's history and, as such, there will be a demand to deliver with the Reds having little to no margin for error.

Their ex-player claimed: "That cannot change that Wirtz and Isak will be judged against their high price tags. Such deals bring tremendous anticipation levels, but added pressure to deliver. When you spend as much as Liverpool, you must win."