Newcastle United remain braced for a second bid for Alexander Isak as the transfer saga of the summer is now set to go down to the wire before Monday’s transfer deadline.
Liverpool sources insist an improved offer is not imminent after there had been suggestions in recruitment circles on Wednesday that a long-trailed follow-up bid was in the works.
That would unlock several stalling striker transfers across the Premier League and Europe.
The Reds feel a second bid is only worth tabling if there is a route to it being successful – that stance has not changed since early August. Liverpool believed their first bid of £110m represented market value but was robustly rejected by Newcastle.
File photo dated 25-05-2025 of Alexander Isak. Fifth place was worth a Champions League spot last season and it went to Newcastle, but the ongoing saga of Isak's future, plus their failure to strengthen up front having been gazumped on a number of targets by Premier League rivals, leaves them in something of a quandary. Issue date: Friday August 8, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read Owen Humphreys/PA Wire.
Isak has downed tools in order to force a move (Photo: PA)
That was where dialogue between the clubs ended, with no official valuation quoted despite the widespread understanding that the Magpies see him in the £150m bracket.
With Isak refusing to play to force a move and not relenting on that position despite fresh talks with the Newcastle hierarchy on Monday, there’s now a real prospect of the saga going into the final 24 hours of the transfer window – which closes at 7pm on Monday. Eddie Howe has said he hopes for more “clarity” on the situation soon.
Newcastle plan third Strand Larsen bid
The club is now scrambling for striker alternatives themselves.
“This was always going to happen because the striker deals always happen last,” one top flight recruitment executive told The i Paper on Wednesday.
“A lot of clubs are waiting. Isak, [Jorgen] Strand Larsen, Dusan Vlahovic – all of those deals are locked at the moment. But when one falls the other might follow quickly.”
Newcastle’s current focus is on incomings and a third offer for Wolves’ Jorgen Strand Larsen is anticipated in the next 24 hours, with sources indicating the striker is keen on the move and that initial talks had been “positive”.
WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - APRIL 26: Jorgen Strand Larsen of Wolverhampton Wanderers celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Leicester City FC at Molineux on April 26, 2025 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Newcastle still believe they can convince Wolves to sell Strand Larsen (Photo: Getty)
Wolves’ position is that the forward is not for sale at any price. But a third offer would indicate there remains hope of a deal being struck, even in time for the Norway international to feature at Leeds on Saturday.
There have been suggestions that Newcastle might return to some of their previous targets, with Chelsea now open to a loan move for Nicolas Jackson.
But The i Paper has been told that at this stage, a move for Yoane Wissa remains – unlikely, with Brentford’s emphatic not-for-sale stance “unchanged” since Newcastle’s last offer.
That bid consisted of £35m plus add-ons that would have been difficult to achieve and was rejected last week. Brentford now regard it as too late in the transfer window to source adequate replacements for a forward who scored 19 times in the league last term.
It leaves Newcastle’s recruitment team in another difficult position, forced to either pay a significant premium for their targets or face the potential prospect of four months of football without a senior, recognised striker.
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The 25-year-old is understood to be highly rated by Howe but a third bid of £60m for Strand Larsen might constitute Newcastle overpaying, even if the deal has the full backing of the St James’ Park hierarchy, given their short-term need.
Data-driven football analysts Sci Sports, who work with a number of top-flight clubs in England and overseas, have developed a rigorous methodology for valued players that is used by professional teams. They rate Strand Larsen at just £26.7m.
Wissa, given he has a year left on his contract, is rated at £22.4m while Isak – for reference’s sake – is valued at £100.1m. At this stage in the summer it is almost inevitable that leaving it so late is a costly business, but multiple high-profile deals still remain in the mix.