Newcastle United transfers: David Hopkinson has spoken about Newcastle’s Premier League record sale of Alexander Isak to Liverpool.
It marked the end of a summer-long transfer saga with Isak becoming the third most expensive player of all-time behind Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
Isak established himself as one of the best strikers in the Premier League during his three seasons at Newcastle, scoring 62 goals in 109 appearances before forcing a move out of the club last summer.
Newcastle eventually agreed a deal with Liverpool on deadline day, but all parties have struggled to reap the rewards of the deal since.
The Magpies haven’t been able to replace Isak’s goals with summer striker additions Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa, who have failed to score in the Premier League since the turn of the year.
Meanwhile, fitness issues have limited Isak’s impact at Anfield as he scored just three goals in his first 16 appearances before suffering a broken a fibula fracture that has sidelined him since December.
David Hopkinson on Alexander Isak sale
Newcastle chief executive officer David Hopkinson was asked about the sale of Isak, which predated his arrival in September.
Looking objectively and without any personal connection to the deal following the publishing of Newcastle’s 2024/25 financial accounts, Hopkinson said: “To me, Isak was a good sale.”
He then issued a firm stance on how the club would deal with any potential repeat situations.
“I wasn’t here for the Isak situation, so I don’t want to comment on something I didn’t see first-hand,” he added. “What I do know is that players that leave this club will need to do so on our terms.
“I don't want to comment on what he was or wasn't allowed to do. What I will tell you is when he left, he left on a Premier League transfer record.”
Hopkinson recently moved into a new home on the outskirts of Newcastle, which helped him apply a fitting analogy.
“I just moved into a nice house in this community,” Hopkinson said. “I'm happy to be part of this community. The day before I moved in, is that house for sale? It's not. I'm ready to move into it.
“For the right number, I would have thrown you the keys and never gone across the threshold. By the way, I was emotional and excited to go into that home. But there's a number, just to be clinical, I never would have crossed the doorstep.
“That's what the best sports organisations are always going to do: Know when it's the moment to extract the maximum value for an asset, a player or otherwise, to drive the club forward to a higher altitude.”
The record sale of Isak came after Newcastle’s latest accounts but will show on the club’s accounts published next year which are expected to show a record turnover following the biggest sale in Premier League history as well as the boost of Champions League football.
The 2024/2025 accounts showed a record turnover of £335.3million for Newcastle, up £15million on 2023/24.
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