Liverpool's stance on potential Alexander Isak replacement who played for Arne Slot

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Liverpool will not be moving for Feyenoord striker Ayase Ueda in the January transfer window despite Alexander Isak's long-term injury and Mohamed Salah's absence at the Africa Cup of Nations

Liverpool is not expected to pursue Feyenoord's Ayase Ueda(Image: DeFodi Images, DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

Liverpool will not be pursuing Ayase Ueda as a short-term solution with Alexander Isak sidelined for an extended period of time.

Isak sustained a leg fracture during the recent Premier League win at Tottenham and is now set to miss a substantial portion of the season. Mohamed Salah is also currently unavailable, representing Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations, leaving Arne Slot with sparse attacking options. Speculation about a January move for Japan international Ueda had emerged, but those rumors have swiftly been dismissed.

According to 1908.nl (via Sport Witness), Feyenoord have "no reasons to fear" losing Ueda to Liverpool. Slot brought the striker from Cercle Brugge in 2023 following his prolific spell as one of the Belgian Pro League's top scorers, and he's currently dominating the Eredivisie scoring charts this campaign.

The 27-year-old netted four goals in a 6-1 thrashing of PEC Zwolle earlier this month, taking his tally to 18 for the season. No other player has managed more than 11 in the competition.

Despite this, Liverpool is understood to have no intention of making a move for the striker. Ueda has also contributed two goals and an assist in five Japan appearances this season and is expected to feature for his country at next summer's World Cup.

"It's going to be a long injury. A couple of months," Slot said of Isak, who has undergone surgery. "That's a big, big big disappointment for him and also for us.

"I'm confident he can (play a part in back end of season). It's been a really challenging and difficult period for him. You join a new club, he was very excited and you want to show immediately your qualities but that was simply impossible.

Alexander Isak broke his leg in the 2-1 win over Tottenham(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)

"If you haven't trained for two or three months at serious level, in this league you have to be on top of your game to impact a game of football.

"We knew it would take months. We knew it could take him time, that's why he's so unlucky he's now injured as we all saw with his goals versus West Ham and Tottenham he got closer to the player and player he was at Newcastle."

Liverpool secured all three points against Wolves on Saturday in their opening fixture since Isak's injury setback. Ryan Gravenberch and Florian Wirtz found the net, with Wirtz breaking his duck following his high-profile summer transfer from Bayer Leverkusen.

"It's nice for him to score his first goal. He's been very important for us throughout the season," manager Slot told Match of the Day after Wirtz opened his account.

"But in football it is about results, you are mainly judged on results or on goals and assists. I think today he showed much more than just the goal he scored; he was special for us in many parts of the game."