From not possible to record spenders: inside Liverpool’s transfer window

The Isak saga picked up early in the summer, but was not announced until two hours after Monday’s 19:00 BST transfer deadline.

Liverpool made a first bid on 1 August. The £110m offer was swiftly rejected.

What happened next is not totally clear.

Just over two weeks ago, during the Professional Footballers’ Association’s annual awards ceremony, Isak put out an Instagram post saying Newcastle had broken promises to him by not letting him leave.

Newcastle hit back at their own player. But then both parties went quiet.

Sources told BBC Sport that Liverpool would not bid again until Newcastle signed two strikers.

And this was exactly what happened.

At some point, there must have been a coming together between those in charge of the two clubs to work out the way forward.

On Saturday, Newcastle completed the club record signing of striker Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart for £69m.

In the early hours of deadline day, it was revealed that Liverpool’s £125m bid had been accepted.

Some 21 hours later, after Newcastle announced a deal worth £55m for Brentford forward Yoane Wissa, Isak’s move was finally confirmed and the British record was broken.

It meant Liverpool have spent close to £200m on strikers after buying Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike in July.

They didn’t go into the summer with a need to sign two forwards. Their close season, though, was overshadowed by the most devastating news.

Their beloved Portuguese forward Diogo Jota died in a car crash in July.

It is first and foremost a tragedy for his family and friends.

It also meant Liverpool had to replace him in their team.

They’ve done that, but Jota will never been forgotten by the club.

And it can’t be overlooked that for all the talk of record spending, the Reds are defending their title this season against the backdrop of immense grief and sadness.