The latest twist in the Alexander Isak saga.
On Tuesday morning, it was widely reported that the Swede is adamant that he will never play for Newcastle United again, seeking to force through a move to Liverpool, after the Reds' initial offer of £110m was rejected.
Alexander-Isak-Carabao-Cup-trophy
Even if Isak is unable to secure his move to Merseyside, Eddie Howe surely has to plan for life without his talisman and top-scorer, so have Newcastle got a new striker target in their sights?
Newcastle's United search for a striker
Already this summer, Newcastle have shown interest in plenty of forwards, only to see them choose to join Premier League rivals instead, namely João Pedro, Liam Delap, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Šeško.
They've also seen a £25m bid for Yoane Wissa rejected by Brentford, while the Magpies have been offered the chance to sign Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea, but the Blues' valuation of around £80m is proving prohibitive.
So, would they enjoy more success if they opted to shop outside the domestic market, as is the case with centre-back Malick Thiaw, arriving from AC Milan for £35m?
Thiaw-Spurs-Guehi-Premier-League-transfer
Well, French newspaper L'Équipe are reporting that Newcastle are "in talks" with Stade Rennais over the potential of signing striker Arnaud Kalimuendo, noting that Brentford are also interested.
They add that Kalimuendo has already turned down the chance to join newly-promoted Leeds United this summer, but les Rouge et Noirs' manager Habib Beye, who is actually a former Newcastle player, is braced for a 'major departure'.
Elsewhere, reports in France claim that the 23-year-old is valued at €30m (around £26m), so could he soon swap Brittany for the North East of England?
What Arnaud Kalimuendo would bring to Newcastle
Born in the Paris suburb of Suresnes, Kalimuendo joined Paris Saint-Germain academy at the age of ten, starring for les Rouge-et-Bleu's young teams, but making just five senior appearances, totalling 167 minutes, for PSG's senior side.
He spent two seasons on loan at Lens, scoring 21 goals in 65 appearances for les Sang et Or, before departing Paris permanently in the summer of 2022, joining Stade Rennais for €25m (around £21.5m), making him, at the time, the most expensive academy graduate sale in PSG's history. Well, this has proved to be a worthwhile investment for Rennes, with Kalimuendo bagging 40 goals and 14 assists for the club in 112 games, as per Transfermarkt. That mirrors Isak's return at Real Sociedad, where he registered 44 goals and eight assists in 132 games for the LaLiga side.
Kalimuendo - 2024/25 Ligue 1 stats
Stat
Goals
Goals inside box
Shots
Non-pen goals - xG
Big chances missed
Average SofaScore rating
*amongst forwards who played 30+ games.
via FBref.com and Sofascore
As the table outlines, Kalimuendo scored 17 goals in Ligue 1 last season, a tally only bettered by Ousmane Dembélé and Mason Greenwood, with every single one of his goals scored inside the penalty area, which very much emphasises his playing style. Isak, for context, scored 17 league goals during his penultimate campaign at Sociedad.
Meantime, the 23-year-old overperformed his expected goals figure by more than three, missing only six Opta-defined big chances, a very low figure for a player who scored as many goals as he did.
Kalimuendo-Rennes-transfer
For comparison, Dembélé missed 17, while Emanuel Emegha of Strasbourg led the way in Ligue 1 in that regard with a humungous 25; for what it is worth, the aforementioned Isak missed 18 in the Premier League.
His form at Roazhon Park has seen Kalimuendo represent France and numerous youth levels, winning Olympic silver on home soil last summer, scoring against New Zealand at Stade Vélodrome during that tournament, having appeared at the U21 Euros a year earlier.
All of this has led to Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labelling him "prolific", having now scored an impressive 61 senior goals before his 24th birthday.
Thus, it is clear that Kalimuendo is a high-quality talent with serious potential so, if Newcastle are able to get their hands on him for as little as £26m, perhaps those on Tyneside will be asking "Alexander who?" come the end of the window.