Alexander Isak is desperate to leave Newcastle United and sign for Liverpool, who have only submitted one bid so far.
That is the state of play with less than three weeks to go before the summer transfer window closes. Liverpool’s opening offer for Isak, which was around £110million, was rejected by Newcastle United almost two weeks ago.
Since then, Isak has been training alone away from his teammates at the Newcastle United training ground. It has also emerged that Isak is refusing to play for Newcastle again, as he attempts to force a move away from St James’ Park.
All the while, the word from Liverpool is that they are waiting for encouragement from Newcastle United to submit a second bid. That is despite Newcastle not wanting to sell Isak all summer.
Alexander Isak looks disappointed during Newcastle United's Premier League game against Bournemouth.
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
Newcastle United told to publicly inform Liverpool what they want for Alexander Isak
It is developing into a cat-and-mouse situation. Information is clearly coming from Isak’s representatives, which is then countered by Newcastle United.
There is a lack of transparency, which former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan thinks the Magpies can address by setting out their stall publicly.
“The challenge for me in all of this is there is a lot of supposition going on,” he told TalkSPORT.
“No one has ever heard Newcastle turn around and say they want £150million. No one has ever heard that. That is a suggestion as to what they want.
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“They might be prepared to do less, they might be prepared to do more, who knows? The terms of reference are Newcastle’s position should be very clear. We don’t want to sell this player. We will sell this player, and I don’t mean supposition, I mean public domain stuff, I mean clear lines of communication that are transparent, that are not opaque, everyone understands where they are so it’s not being debated in the public domain.
“We don’t want to sell this player. If Liverpool want to buy this player, we’ll accept offers of £150million, with no delayed payments. Very simple. Over to you Liverpool, over to you player.”
It would be quite a stunning situation if Newcastle United came out publicly and declared their conditions for selling Isak. Given the nature of modern football, that simply is not going to happen.
But the ball remains in Liverpool’s court. Isak wants to leave. Newcastle do not want to sell, but they will if they get an acceptable offer and find a replacement.
As of now, Liverpool are yet to submit an acceptable offer for a player who is widely considered to be one of the best strikers in world football.
Simon Jordan sends a timely reminder to Liverpool about Alexander Isak
It is Liverpool who should be forcing the issue, not Newcastle United.
That is the view of Jordan, who believes it is the Reds who should be taking charge of the Isak situation if they are serious about doing a deal.
“Newcastle are not a willing seller, so the onus lies really with Liverpool,” he said.
“It has always lied with Liverpool. If Liverpool want to buy this player then it is Liverpool’s job to make the running, not Newcastle’s.”
Instead, it is Isak and his representatives who are forcing the issue. They appear to be trying to force Newcastle United into a corner, in the hope that they will buckle under the pressure and agree to let him go.
That is not likely to happen, while Liverpool are yet to increase their offer.