Days after turning down a £110 million bid from Premier League champions Liverpool, Newcastle United’s Saudi owners have put their foot down and have insisted Alexander Isak will not be leaving St. James Park for now.
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The drama surrounding the transfer of Alexander Isak this summer has finally come to an end with Newcastle United telling the Swedish striker he’s not going anywhere in the 2025-26 season, according to The Telegraph. The Newcastle board’s verdict on the matter comes days after they rejected a £110 million bid from defending Premier League champions Liverpool for Isak,
Isak, who had finished as the second-highest goal-scorer last season with 23 goals behind Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (29), had expressed his interest in joining Arne Slot’s side, who had won their second title of the Premier League era last season and their 20th top-flight title overall.
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The report adds that the 25-year-old isn’t likely to take such a refusal from the club’s Saudi owners too well, which only means that Isak will continue to remain sidelined from the rest of the squad until there’s a truce between the player and the club.
Isak has three years left on his Newcastle contract, and the report adds that the club is likely to negotiate a new deal with a release clause once the current transfer window comes to an end.
Isak overlooked for Newcastle’s home friendly against Espanyol
Isak had recently skipped Newcastle’s tour of Asia and instead opting to train at the facility of his former club Real Sociedad without Newcastle’s permission. He since linked up with the rest of the Newcastle squad, but continues to train alone.
And on Friday, the Sweden international was not included for the friendly against Espanyol at St James Park that ended in a 2-2 draw, highlighting the fact that he isn’t likely to be included in Howe’s plans for the season until he commits himself to the Magpies once again.
“We’ve had discussions and it’s clear at the moment that we can’t involve him with the group. I don’t know how long that will be for, but that’s the latest,” Howe said after the four-goal draw againt Espanyol.
“I’d want Alex to be playing today, I’d want him training tomorrow. We would love the player to be with us. Let me make that absolutely clear. There’s no part of me that doesn’t want that outcome, but I don’t see the current situation changing for Aston Villa," the Newcastle boss added, referring to his team’s season opener – against Aston Villa away from home.
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The transfer window, meanwhile, closes on 1 September, giving Liverpool and other interested clubs nearly a month to sign Isak either by matching Newcastle’s expected bid of £150 million ($201.74 million) – which would be a new British transfer record - or through some other means.
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