Alexander Isak has moved out of his Newcastle home in a new effort to force through a move to Liverpool, while a trusted source has explained the new dilemma facing the Magpies as the saga and amid new claims that suggest he has been pushing to leave for over a year.
The Sweden striker has made it clear he wants to leave St James’ Park this summer, citing the club’s failure to adequately strengthen their squad, coupled with his anger at Newcastle for their failure to reward him with a new contract. And while Liverpool have already seen one offer, worth an initial £110m with a series of add-ons, knocked back by the Magpies, the Premier League champions are expected to come back in with a renewed bid before the window closes.
When that second bid for Isak arrives, however, it is open to conjecture. And while reports on Monday suggested that was due to arrive in the next 72 hours, it has become clear that this transfer saga is far from finished as of yet.
In the meantime, The Times’ Martin Hardy has broken the news on Tuesday morning that Isak has moved out of his Newcastle home in a new bid to try and force the issue.
That comes after the striker already opted out of the club’s pre-season tour of Asia and having also gone AWOL, training with his former club Real Sociedad while his teammates embarked on pre-season fixtures in Singapore and South Korea.
And while the new move will not force Newcastle to alter their ‘not for sale’ stance, it does serve to reinforce the striker’s bloody-minded desire to force through his exit.
To that end, sources have underlined the 25-year-old’s strong desire to finalise a move to Anfield – a story our reporter Fraser Fletcher exclusively first broke – before the transfer window closes on Monday 1 September.
Off the back of the saga, the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope has provided an insight into both Isak’s state of mind and Newcastle’s thoughts on sanctioning the sale.
Taking to X, he explained: ‘Is Alexander Isak for sale? No.
‘Will he be sold? Let’s see. Different questions. Different answers.
‘Isak isn’t refusing to play because he’s not for sale. He, his camp & Liverpool can see NUFC have tried to sign a replacement. He’s refusing to participate to make sure they don’t stop.’
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New claims arise over Isak desire to quit Newcastle
In the meantime, Eddie Howe’s side are preparing for their Premier League opener at Aston Villa on Saturday, with the Magpies boss confirming that Isak will not be part of those plans, as things stand.
“I don’t think we’re going to see anything definitive to this situation until the transfer window is closed,”he told the media.
In the words of Keith Downie, that situation is now threatening to turn toxic.
“It’s becoming a bit of a toxic situation, not what Newcastle want ahead of the new season.”
Howe, however, insists all possibilities remain on the table over Isak and speaking after the 2-0 pre-season friendly defeat to Atletico Madrid, he commented: “I think everything is in play.
“I’ve said many times he is contracted to us. He is our player. The club make the decision on his future.
“I don’t know what that will be. Of course, I have a preferred outcome. I want the best and the strongest squad possible, but I also want players that really want to play for this football club.”
Asked what needs to happen for the situation to change in Newcastle’s favour, Howe responded: “That’s not for me to answer. That’s for him to answer.”
In the meantime, new revelations from both The Athletic journalist David Ornstein and former Sky Sports News reporter Melissa Reddy claim that Isak informed Newcastle a year ago he wanted to quit St James’ Park.
Reddy posted on X: ‘Isak informed Newcastle last summer that it would be his final season. He then repeated that two weeks before the campaign ended and after their last game…’
Reddy had previously explained on August 6 that ‘Isak and his camp feel they respectfully informed Newcastle of the forward‘s desire to explore a fresh challenge well ahead of this summer’ and did so knowing it ‘afforded the club the chance to attack the market on the front foot’ with regards to signing a replacement.
In the meantime, Romano has underlined Liverpool’s determination not to give up on the player’s signing.
The transfer journalist stated: “Liverpool are not giving up. They feel that Newcastle are still very active in the market to find a striker because they know Isak is not changing his mind. Alexander Isak is not changing his mind, Isak has no intention to return to a normal conversation with Newcastle over a new contract.
“They maintain their confidence in making a deal happen for Isak. Let’s follow the story but it remains a concrete opportunity.”
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Florian Wirtz 2025 £116m Darwin Nunez 2022 £85m Virgil van Dijk 2018 £75m Mohamed Salah 2017 £43.9m Sadio Mane 2016 £36m Andy Carroll 2011 £35m Luis Suarez 2011 £22.8m Fernando Torres 2007 £20.2m Djibril Cisse 2004 £14.5m Emile Heskey 2000 £11m
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