Newcastle are braced for a second offer for Isak from Liverpool and it could give PIF a tough decision to make before Monday’s transfer deadline
Eddie Howe has offered the clearest indication yet that Alexander Isak’s conduct this summer will influence Newcastle United’s decision over whether to sanction a British record sale as Liverpool prepare a second offer thought to be in the region of £120m.
Newcastle will break their own transfer record to sign Stuttgart’s Germany striker Nick Woltemade later on Friday in a much-needed recruitment breakthrough.
Howe confirmed the club were looking to sign at least one more player ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline, although the Isak situation will dictate what they do and how much financial scope they have in the final hours of the window.
Howe has maintained all summer that the final decision on Isak will not rest with him and it is understood the club’s majority owners PIF will make the final call on the Sweden striker’s future.
Club sources have told The i Paper Woltemade’s signing “does not necessarily mean” Isak will be sold, and the Reds will need to meet their valuation of Isak.
An Isak Is A Rat t-shirt for sale at the It's In Black And White Shop ahead of the Premier League match at St James' Park, Newcastle. Picture date: Monday August 25, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: EDITORIAL USE ONLY No use with unauthorised audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications.
Newcastle fans are unlikely to welcome Isak back to the fold (Photo: PA)
But the direction of travel is pointing one way on Isak’s future, with Howe’s admission on Friday that the club will “have to look at all the information” a reflection of the fact that some in positions of power at Newcastle believe the situation to be close to irreparable.
Howe confirmed to The i Paper on Friday that he has not spoken to Isak this week, which takes it to more than a fortnight since the pair have interacted.
Asked whether he had a preference for what happens next with Isak, Howe said: “Of course I would have a preference, but ultimately you have got to look at all the information.
“So of course I have a footballing preference, but then you have to take everything else into account, you can’t just be oblivious to things that have happened.
“So I’m in that position really, where I’m trying to separate myself because I have no control over it. I will let everything take its course and then deal with the eventuality.”
Howe has been very careful not to criticise Isak throughout the summer and repeated on Friday that there was a path to reintegration. He said that “of course” he could see Woltemade and Isak being in the same squad moving forward but there is a sense that PIF are now in full control of the decision.
“I don’t think you can be emotionally involved,” Howe said. “If you’re emotionally involved you’re going to make a bad decision. I’ve had to separate myself from it, as Alex exited the squad, initially.
“I took the view that the squad needed me to be the best me and be totally focussed on them. This situation was not going to be resolved quickly and I had no control over bringing any resolution to it.
“I was in that position when I took the call to move forward with the squad.”
All eyes are now on Liverpool and the timing and scale of a second offer that insiders now believe is “inevitable” and “imminent”.
Club insiders at Anfield have maintained to The i Paper that a follow-up bid will only be forthcoming if they believe it has a realistic chance of progressing. They have also stressed that any signing must represent “fair market value”.
With no-one else bidding for Isak, Liverpool will feel they are in a strong position and it is understood that a second offer would be closer to the £120m mark – giving PIF a decision to make on a player whose valuation hovered closer to £150m. It all makes for a fascinating final few days of the transfer window.
It’s worth remembering that Newcastle’s PSR situation means that any move for a second striker – and Brentford’s Yoane Wissa remains a priority target if the Bees can find a replacement – might well depend on an outgoing.
Howe admitted on Friday that Newcastle had been forced to make “poor decisions” in the past, most likely a reference to the call to sell Elliot Anderson, who is set for a call-up to the England senior squad.
Howe said: “I think I’ve said many times we don’t want to be in a position where we are having to make poor decisions, which we had to do, well documented, previously off the back of the decisions we’ve made trying to improve the squad as we are now.
“I think PSR continues to influence everything we do but we don’t want to be chasing a big deficit because that will have big negative consequences if we are in that position again.”
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Newcastle are unlikely to have Woltemade on board in time to face Leeds, which opens the door for Will Osula – the Magpies’ young but raw forward – to start his first Premier League game.
Osula made an impressive late cameo against Liverpool, scoring an equaliser that ended up being in vein, but is still considered a work-in-progress. And it was telling that Howe refused to rule out a possible loan move for the Denmark under-21 striker.
That answer suggests that Newcastle are planning to bring in a second forward.
“I wouldn’t want to put any kind of restriction onto how (Will) is viewed,” he said. “We will view him and judge him every day, like we do. He’s made great strides in a year.
“Sometimes, when you’re watching someone every day, and you’re so ingrained in their development, you can forget to see the giant leap that he’s made.
“I think his game is in a much better place. I think there’s more growth to come, naturally for someone so young. But he’s got ability and he’s got a talent, and he does score goals. He’s scored goals regularly in training, and he is quick and he is strong.”