Newcastle is said to be willing to make Alexander Isak the highest-paid player in the club's history in a bid to keep him at St. James' Park for the long haul.
The Magpies striker has been a revelation since moving to the North East in 2022, tallying 62 goals in 109 appearances, and he finished this season as the Premier League's second-top scorer behind Mohamed Salah.
Liverpool is a huge admirer of Isak, but a transfer seems unlikely this summer due to the colossal fee that the Reds would have to part with in order to sign the Sweden international.
Liverpool has already spent around $200 million, including add-ons, on Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong, and that total is set to rise to around $250 million with the impending addition of Milos Kerkez; Isak would likely cost more than the possible $157 million that Liverpool has committed to the Wirtz deal.
The Times, though, does report that Liverpool "has the funds to test Newcastle's resolve" and that the St. James' Park club is also aware of growing interest in Isak from Barcelona and Arsenal.
Newcastle is ready to open talks over a new deal for Isak and it is reported that any new deal would see the former Real Sociedad striker become the club's highest earner, on more than $200,000 per week.
The Magpies would not be able to match the salaries that Liverpool's highest-paid players are on — Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk are both believes to earn in excess of $400,000 per week.
Interestingly, the report claims that Liverpool is not actively pursuing a new No. 9, despite the high likelihood of Darwin Nunez leaving the club this summer.
Nunez's departure would leave Diogo Jota as the Reds' only natural striker, although Luis Diaz was frequently used through the middle this season, and there is also the possibility that Florian Wirtz will be utilized as a false nine next term.
Darwin Nunez is set to leave Liverpool
Darwin Nunez is set to leave Liverpool (Image: 2025 Getty Images)
Regarding Nunez's future, the Uruguayan is reported to have decided that he wants to join Napoli, despite the riches of the Saudi Pro League also being on offer to him.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano on his YouTube channel earlier this week: "We know that there are many clubs after Darwin. We know that there is a very important economic request from Liverpool for Darwin — that is the real point of the negotiation.
"At this moment, Napoli feels as though they have Darwin's OK for a possible transfer, now they have to make the numbers add up with Liverpool and the agents.
"So we are working in this direction, and we will continue to do so during this week. We are not saying that Darwin will definitely be a Napoli player, but over the weekend he gave a possible yes to the transfer.
"Liverpool spent big on Darwin so the club will clearly want to get back as much as possible. This is why we need to get the numbers of this deal right, but having Darwin open the door is certainly good news for Napoli."