· 23 August 2025, 18:00
Newcastle United rebel Alexander Isak has been trying all summer to force a move away from the club, with Liverpool seen as his next likely destination.
Despite his antics, the message from Newcastle's majority owners, the PIF of Saudi Arabia, the message has always been that Alexander Isak is not for sale.
However, there's always been an understanding that if certain conditions were met, then the Magpies could have been willing to talk.
Those conditions have not been anywhere near yet, as Newcastle insists on having two strikers through the door this summer, one of which is seen as comparable to Alexander Isak, and an interested buyer would have to fork over £150 million. Newcastle don't even have one new striker this summer, and Liverpool fell about £40 million short with their one bid so far.
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Alexander Isak messed up with his statement on Tuesday
Alexander Isak provoked emotion with his statement
In midweek, Isak broke his silence by releasing a statement on social media, which he probably thought would help him edge closer towards the exit, when in fact all it did was make Newcastle more resolute.
In his Inside Football newsletter, Journalist Miguel Delaney has now explained what Isak's mistake was when releasing his statement on Tuesday night.
“The truth is that players agitate [for a move] because, in the words of one insider, “they know it generally works”.
“Clubs don’t want to keep someone that is causing problems, and ultimately want full value. That’s one reason it has been a distinctive theme of this summer, with Brentford’s Yoane Wissa offering a mirror of Isak.
“The strategy is often described as “player power”, but it’s actually because their power is surprisingly limited. They only have brief periods of leverage, as Isak may find if he is still at Newcastle next Tuesday.
“The mistake that Isak has made is in provoking more emotion in a case that had previously been mostly business. Newcastle were willing to be pragmatic. Now, their pride is stinging. Liverpool are currently highly unlikely to get their man.”
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Alexander Isak's statement had the opposite effect to what he was hoping
Isak's statement did seem to provoke an emphatic reaction from the club as their follow-up statement effectively closed the door on a move this summer.
That being said, we imagine if the aforementioned conditions were somehow met in the next week, there's still a slight chance the deal could happen, but to say that the odds of that happening are slim would be an understatement.
Newcastle can't even get one striker over the line and we still don't believe that Liverpool would fork over £150 million.