The ongoing Alexander Isak saga has completely dominated all the talk around our pre-season preparations and the opening two weeks of the 2025/26 season.
An almost striker-less squad has suffered on the pitch, going without a win in all our pre-season, whilst a number of targets have opted against joining, with Ekitike, Sesko, Delap and Pedro all joining ‘big six’ rivals instead.
It’s been a draining few months for Eddie Howe, the team and the fanbase, and we can all agree that the sooner the window comes to an end, the better.
But despite all the noise, which will not stop until the window shuts on 1st September, it seems Newcastle’s owners are sending out a strong early message on Isak’s future.
According to The Mail’s [Craig Hope](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hSBSRXCbzM), Alexander Isak is now expected to STAY on Tyneside, which could mark the end of any more drama for this transfer window.
Liverpool could try their luck again in the final week of the window, but it’s believed PIF were angered by the nature of Isak’s statement last week and have only hardened their stance on a potential sale after being hugely reluctant sellers all summer.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Hope elaborated more on the club’s internal stance: _“As the (club) statement said (on Tuesday night), the conditions of sale haven’t been met!”_
_“Newcastle now are not going to leave themselves short by allowing Alexander Isak to go when he is, as we stand here now, the only recognised striker in the building.”_
_“My information is…and this was a stance which really hardened on Tuesday night, the statement and the language and the accusatory nature of it did not go down well..is that Alexander Isak is going nowhere.”_
Isak has been widely criticised within the media as of late for the antics of him and his agent, and with our owners already being quite reluctant to sell him, the Swede looks to have done himself no favours with that Instagram story post just prior to the PFA awards earlier in the week.
It was speculated that we would need to bring in at least two striker options if we wanted to properly replace an outgoing Isak, as no one option available on the market right now could match his goalscoring ability.
We have been eyeing up both Yoane Wissa and Jørgen Strand Larsen over the past few weeks, but with how reluctant both Brentford and Wolves are over selling their respective players, time is running out to sign either.
However, regardless of Isak, the club are yet to replace Callum Wilson and must bring in another forward to boost that one area of the squad looking worryingly weak.
Once we play Liverpool on Monday night, there will be less than a week left of the transfer window until it closes. You would imagine it would now take an offer exceeding £150m for us to be remotely tempted into selling Isak to the Reds before September 1st, along with two strikers suddenly arriving!