The ongoing Alexander Isak saga looks set to come to an end after Newcastle strike deal with Stuttgart
Nick Woltemade of VfB Stuttgart
Nick Woltemade of VfB Stuttgart
Newcastle United are closing in on a deal for Stuttgart's Nick Woltemade - with the £60.5m deal looking certain to end Alexander Isak's time at St James' Park.
It leaves the door open for Liverpool to sign the Sweden international, although the move for Woltemade strengthens United's position on their asking price for Isak.
United insiders confirmed to Chronicle Live that an overall £65m package was in the works for the Germany Under-21 star. We reported on June 25 that Newcastle were upping their interest in Woltemade after scouting missions at the U21 Euros.
However, after intital checks, United then attempted to sign the likes of Joao Pedro and Benjamin Sesko without success.
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Howe admitted to us on Monday night that his target list had changed in recent days and said: "Your names at the beginning of the window and at the end of the window are always very different because a lot of the players will have moved, so naturally I think that's always the case if you're still active in the market, which we are.
"But as I've said all through the window we have to be careful we don't make a decision that impacts the long term and future windows and gives us big problems, so any decision we make will always be based around controlling PSR, good financial decisions, but also against our need and our ned is there, so let's see what happens in the next few days."
The news does not put the death knell on a move for Jorgen Strand-Larsen with Newcastle still in positive dialogue with Wolverhampton Wanderers as they try to agree a fee in the region of £60m for the Norwegian international.
With the possibility of two strikers coming through the door, it means Newcastle will finally be able to give Isak his wish after last gasp talks to change his mind failed earlier this week.
Landing 6ft 6in Woltemade and potentially 6ft 4in Larsen could give Newcastle a new dimension to carry forward into the Champions League.