Newcastle player Alexander Isak reacts during the Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and Everton FC at St James' Park on May 25, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)placeholder image
Newcastle player Alexander Isak reacts during the Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and Everton FC at St James' Park on May 25, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Liverpool’s pursuit of Alexander Isak has been highly publicised but what happens to the striker if he stays at Newcastle?
A quick look at how much money has been spent across Europe tells its own story in terms of where Liverpool sit amongst the continent’s big spenders.
No longer is Serie A or La Liga the place where the big cheques are written or where the clubs pay the highest salaries. The Premier League has spent more than every league in Europe combined amd has become the continent’s super power thanks to the vast sums of money paid for TV deals and the worldwide interest in England’s top flight.
PSG and Barcelona have both fallen foul of UEFA’s finance regulations in the past but Real Madrid are still a force to be reckoned with in terms of how deep their pockets are. They, like Liverpool, will always be mentioned when good players become available. Good players like Alexander Isak.
If Liverpool don’t bid who could afford Alexander Isak?
After a damning statement suggesting that he has been lied to, Isak was put back in his place by Newcastle who claim that they have done nothing wrong and that all they have done is stood by a fair valuation. With a £150m price tag, they have a point given some of the fees paid in recent years for midfielders who don’t score 25-30 goals a season and contribute to many more.
The problem for Isak is that he has a very long way to go if he is to return to action for the Magpies. Fans don’t forgive easily regardless of how good a player is. Under a long term contract the 25-year old’s options are limited especially if Liverpool don’t want to up their £110m offer despite reports of a £120m bid being prepared.
Realistically, nobody wins if the transfer window shuts and Isak is still at Newcastle, except maybe Liverpool in that the transfer fee won’t go up given what has happened this summer. Eddie Howe will want his best player for the Champions League and Premier League whilst Isak will be keen to get back playing too. After all, who will sign a £150m rated striker with no form?
Liverpool might return in January, but the situation won’t have changed if Newcastle can’t sign a replacement. The winter window is also notoriously difficult to land a bargain which will be compounded this year by the African Cup of Nations and clubs being unlikely to let players leave. Come next summer Liverpool will have a clean slate in terms of PSR and won’t have the same size of rebuild. Mo Salah will also be another year older.
Unless something drastic happens at Real Madrid, there is no room for Isak there, and it is a similar story at Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal. Whether it was intentional or not, all Liverpool have to do is click their fingers with the right amount of money.
What does a former Premier League player think?
Speaking on the BBC Football Daily podcast, former Premier League midfielder Michael Brown believes that Isak hasn’t come out of the saga at all well: “I think what I look at is, from a football club's point of view, he’s a wonderful player,he is an exceptionally one. They're trying to take that next step now to get into the Champions League, to be there every single season, to challenge at the top of the table, and then somebody like him is what you need. But when it comes along, that you can go and join a club like Liverpool who are winning trophies, financial rewards are going to be extremely strong to go in another side, which obviously looks like they could go and do that again.
“He probably feels it's worth while at 100 and odd million, that that's a fair deal and they shouldn't stand in his way. I think the point what you can't do, and I think we look at other players, I think we've seen Harry Kane lead by example at times when he could have left the football club and he stayed quiet, he's gone with his job and kept that work ethic. It's made untenable now regards to the Newcastle United fans for him to go back.
“I think it's the football club, if they don't reach the agreement, he sits, he said he was refusing to play so he shouldn't get paid, and I think they should make a firm stance of it and wait and see how that goes and make sure that Newcastle United will never be bullied, will never be put into that corner and a player might have to wait and Liverpool might have to increase that bid. That's the way it is and I feel like he should have just kept it quiet but if he doesn't want to play then he's got a big problem.”
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