Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer agree on Premier League winners – ‘Impossible to stop’

Liverpool have been tipped to retain the Premier League title by Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer, who believe the Reds could have an “impossible” attack to stop after an incredible summer window

Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer agree that Liverpool will win the Premier League again this season. Arne Slot’s Reds dominated the league last term and have spent the summer bolstering their squad with new talent.

Liverpool’s first signing was Jeremie Frimpong, activating his £29.5million release clause at Bayer Leverkusen to swiftly fill the void left by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure. The Reds then broke their club-record transfer fee by securing attacking-midfielder Florian Wirtz in a whopping £116m deal, followed by the acquisition of Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth for £40m.

Striker Hugo Ekitike was next to join the ranks of Anfield in a £79m move from Eintracht Frankfurt, while goalkeeper Armin Pecsi was signed from Puskas AFC for a modest £1.5m. Given their impressive transfer window thus far, both Lineker and Shearer are confident that Liverpool are well-positioned to defend their title this season.

READ MORE: Alexander Isak slammed for ‘poor’ transfer behaviour as Newcastle reminded of hard truthREAD MORE: Virgil van Dijk names one thing Liverpool must do to defend their Premier League title

On The Rest Is Football, Lineker said: “I think they’re going to win it again. Anyone differ?” before Shearer replied: “No, I’m with you. And I don’t think they’ll be finished in the window as well. I think they’ll still look for a player or two. So I’m with you, I’ve got them for the title.”

Micah Richards, turning to Newcastle United fan Shearer, then asked: “What’s happening with [Alexander] Isak, Al?” hinting at Liverpool’s pursuit of the star striker throughout the summer, reports the Liverpool Echo. To which Shearer responded: “I don’t know, I mean, did you hear Eddie’s [Howe’s] interview after the game that they had yesterday? Saying it’s completely out of his hands,” before Lineker added: “Yeah, I suspect he’s going to go to Liverpool.”

Despite Newcastle’s early insistence that the 25-year-old wasn’t on the market, it seems as though Isak himself is now keen for a move away from St. James’ Park, having highlighted a desire to explore his options this summer. Liverpool have already had a bid of £110m plus add-ons for the Swede knocked back, given the Magpies rate him at no less than £150m.

However, with just three weeks remaining in the current window, Liverpool could come back with a better offer to secure Isak for the upcoming season. The star has missed all of pre-season with Newcastle and finds himself in a tricky situation.

Reports suggest that Newcastle are standing firm on their valuation and will only let Isak go if they can find an adequate replacement for the forward, who netted 23 Premier League goals last term. Shearer added: “If [Liverpool] were to get him, the options they’d have up top would just be incredible. So they’d be impossible to stop if they got Isak, I think.”

Slot’s summer signings made an immediate impact in Sunday’s Community Shield clash with Crystal Palace, despite losing the coveted title on penalties. Ekitike took just four minutes to net his first goal for Liverpool, expertly guiding the ball past Dean Henderson from the edge of the box with his right foot.

Jean-Philippe Mateta equalised at the 17-minute mark, coolly slotting home a penalty, before Frimpong put Liverpool back in the lead just four minutes later with a cheeky chip from the right-hand side of the pitch. Ismaila Sarr levelled the score once more with 13 minutes remaining, bouncing the ball off the right post and past Alisson from inside the box.

With the match deadlocked, a nail-biting penalty shootout was all that stood between last season’s Premier League and FA Cup winners. Mohamed Salah unusually blasted Liverpool’s first penalty over the bar, before Mateta clinically converted his second spot-kick of the game.

Henderson then thwarted Alexis Mac Allister by diving low to his left, before Alisson pulled off a heroic save of his own to deny Eberechi Eze. Cody Gakpo then sent Henderson the wrong way with his penalty, before Sarr made it 2-1 with a hop, skip and a jump.

The tension was tangible as Harvey Elliott’s penalty to the left was blocked by Henderson, before Borna Sosa gave Liverpool a glimmer of hope by hitting the crossbar. Dominik Szoboszlai managed to equalise the shootout at 2-2, but Liverpool needed either a crucial save from Alisson or a miss from Justin Devenny to push it into sudden death.

Unfortunately for the Reds, neither scenario came to fruition, with Devenny blasting the ball into the top right corner, securing Palace’s first-ever Community Shield. Liverpool and Slot will now shift their focus to their Premier League opener against Bournemouth at Anfield on Friday, August 15.

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