Newcastle United and Alexander Isak hoped the situation regarding his future would be resolved by now.
However, it remains unclear what is going to happen to Alexander Isak with less than one week to go before the summer transfer window closes.
Newcastle officials met with Isak on Monday, hoping to smooth things over and convince the 25-year-old to end his Toon exile.
However, it has been reported that Isak still wants to leave Newcastle and join Liverpool.
For that to happen, Newcastle will need to receive an offer worth £150million and buy two strikers themselves. That sounds unlikely given the fact that the window closes on Monday evening.
Alexander Isak arrives at St James' Park for Newcastle United's Premier League game against Bournemouth.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Gary Lineker thinks the Alexander Isak situation will ‘go to the wire’
Newcastle United fans are desperate for a conclusion, one way or another. That includes Toon legend Alan Shearer, who has told the Rest Is Football podcast that he expects the Isak situation to be resolved before the Magpies’ game against Leeds on Saturday.
However, Gary Lineker disagrees. In his eyes, it could even rumble on until the January transfer window.
“They can’t go through until next Monday,” Shearer said.
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“They’ve got Leeds on Saturday. It’s just been going on and on and on.
“I know the chairman was in Newcastle last night [Monday]. My guess would be something has to be sorted in the next two or three days. It can’t drag on until the weekend. One way or the other, it has to be resolved. It really does.”
Lineker replied: “I’ve got a feeling it might go to the wire, Alan. I can’t see Isak changing his tune. It has to come from him, unless there is a deal done. If there is a deal done then obviously it will work out before.
“If it stays like a stalemate then it goes to the end of the window. Then if nothing happens, because he’s not easily getting a transfer over the line anyway, particularly one with these complications and the amount of money involved. If they don’t then it will drift on until January, which is not good for anyone unless Isak changes his tune when he realises he can’t play for a few months.”
The one thing Newcastle United will not do when it comes to Alexander Isak
Considering what his stance has been all summer, it would come as a shock if Isak suddenly changed his mind about leaving Newcastle United while the transfer window is still open.
While Newcastle will want a resolution over the next few days, Lineker’s version of events feels much more probable.
However, the situation will boil down to whether or not the Magpies can bring in a replacement. As has been the case for weeks, that seems incredibly unlikely.
That is because Newcastle United will not panic buy. That is not something they have ever done since PIF became the Newcastle United owners.
Transfer decisions have been calculated and purposeful. With that in mind, it would be madness for Newcastle to move away from that approach when it comes to replacing one of the best strikers in world football.
As much as Isak wants to leave, it is difficult to see how a move to Liverpool transpires between now and 1st September.