Liverpool “will submit a second offer” for Alexander Isak on the proviso that Newcastle secure his replacement, with a “much-improved” offer expected on Tyneside.
With some reporters maintaining Liverpool are inclined not to bid again after an offer in the region of £110 million was rejected, the *Mail*‘s Craig Hope has insisted Liverpool “have not walked away.”
Hope, closely connected with Newcastle and currently reporting on their pre-season tour of Asia, has reported Liverpool will submit an improved offer should Newcastle “make progress” on Isak’s replacement.
Newcastle are said to be anticipating “a much-improved approach” as they push to complete the signing of RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko after tabling a £69.9 million offer for the forward.
The Slovenian would be a replacement for Isak, who is to return to Newcastle after training in Spain with his personal fitness coach while his teammates travelled to Asia for pre-season.
• READ: Why Liverpool FC can still afford Alexander Isak transfer
Hopes adds that “Liverpool will know they are wasting their time making an offer whilst Newcastle are waiting for a response from Sesko,” with Man United also in contention.
It is a transfer house of cards, with one move to unlock the rest of the chain, and Liverpool have “been told it will take closer to £150 million for Newcastle to do a deal.”
The latest report comes a day after Hope relayed that “sources suspect the Reds have ‘bottled it’ and have strung along Isak,” but they would not have tabled a bid they knew would be rejected if that was the case.
Newcastle striker Alexander Isak arriving before a Premier League match against Manchester United at St James’ Park (Owen Humphreys/PA)
Sky Sports’ Newcastle reporter Keith Downie, meanwhile, has added on YouTube that, “obviously if Sesko comes in that will allow Isak to go.
“Liverpool will come back in with an increased bid, all this nonsense that Liverpool have made their final bid. They have not made their final bid, there’s four weeks of the window to go.”
Newcastle‘s public stance that they will not sell the Swede has shifted significantly and it is expected that the two clubs will eventually reach an agreement for a British transfer record.
For the time being, Isak will know Liverpool are serious in their bid to land him, having tabled a formal offer, and personal terms will be a non-issue after the striker moved to ostracise himself at Newcastle.