Newcastle United do not want to lose Alexander Isak to Liverpool this summer and strengthening the squad while keeping hold of the Sweden star would send out a strong message
Ciaran covers Newcastle United for the Journal and ChronicleLive. Originally from Galway in the west of Ireland, Ciaran joined us from the Manchester Evening News, where he was Manchester United writer, in February, 2019. Ciaran previously wrote a book on Jose Mourinho entitled 'The Rise of the Translator'.
Jamie O'Hara and, inset, Newcastle United owners Yasir Al-Rumayyan and Jamie Reuben
Jamie O'Hara and, inset, Newcastle United owners Yasir Al-Rumayyan and Jamie Reuben
"The problem that they've got is they are just Newcastle still, aren't they?"
Those were the words of former Spurs midfielder Jamie O'Hara, who is not the only pundit who expects Newcastle United to merely roll over and sell Alexander Isak to Liverpool for £120m.
Only this is not 2011.
This is a side who defeated Liverpool to win a first major domestic trophy in 70 years. This is a side who are set to compete in the Champions League for the second time in three seasons. This is a side who aim to rival the elite for the biggest honours in the game.
That is not going to happen overnight, of course, which highlights the challenge Newcastle face to keep pace with the ambitions of key players like Isak in a PSR world, but the coming weeks will tell us a lot about the project.
Newcastle have certainly looked to make a statement in recent days. After spending £55m on Anthony Elanga, the Magpies made a club-record £70m offer to bring in Hugo Ekitike to partner Isak.
It remains to be seen if Newcastle manage to strike a deal after having an opening bid rejected by Eintracht Frankfurt, but doing so would send out a strong message. As would keeping Isak for that matter.
Isak still has three years left on his contract, which puts Newcastle in a strong position, and selling the striker to the champions of England this summer would not exactly scream ambition. Not when captain Bruno Guimaraes has talked up the prospect of Newcastle challenging for the title in the future.
"I believe," he said a couple of months ago. "Liverpool are at the top and we beat them. We know the league is so complex. Many things can happen. There is never an easy game, but I believe we can do it someday."
To do that, Newcastle need to add quality to what they already have while keeping hold of their key players, which had always been the plan going into this window.
CEO Darren Eales even spoke about a 'sense of annoyance' internally because Newcastle are 'seen as the next category down and it is fair game to talk about our players' while Eddie Howe admitted the constant talk of Isak moving away had been a 'frustration'.
“I’d like to think the players are happy here," the Newcastle boss added back in May. "I’d like to think again that they’re seeing us grow and develop into a team that hopefully can compete at the top end of the division.
“We have no divine right to do that, but I think we’re going in the right direction."
This summer feels like a chance to prove that.
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