Newcastle remain steadfast in their determination to keep Alexander Isak this summer and will not be bullied into his sale, despite some hugely worrying claims emerging from a representative connected with the player.
The striker has found himself at the centre of plenty of speculation over the past few months, amid strong claims Liverpool are ready to pay a British record fee to prise the striker to Anfield, potentially not even being deterred by Newcastle’s apparent £150m (€173m, $2o1m) asking price on the Swede’s head.
And even though Liverpool have over the weekend reached an agreement with Eintracht Frankfurt to sign Hugo Ekitike, worth up to €95m (£82m, $110m), speculation that Isak will still follow him to Merseyside is refusing to die down, and with that talk fuelled by some incredible claims made by former Reds defender Steve Nicol.
Isak was also linked with a shock move to Al-Hilal over the weekend, too, amid claims his agent was already in talks and open to the possibility of a blockbuster move to the Middle East.
And with the striker having been left out of Newcastle’s side that were beaten 4-0 by Celtic in a pre-season friendly at Celtic Park on Saturday, further fuelling rumours, one of his representatives has now lit the blue touch paper with some new comments over the 139-goal frontman.
Speaking to Saudi newspaper Arriyadiyah, Gonzalo Gaitan said: “We are indeed studying and analysing all options, and we may be close to finalising the next step for the player. Without revealing any details regarding whether Isak will transfer or stay with Newcastle.”
Despite those comments potentially lending themselves to a move away from St James’ Park, The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards remains steadfast in his belief that Isak will NOT be sold.
Writing on X, Edwards stated: ‘I will repeat for the hard of hearing. Alexander Isak is not for sale this summer. Not to Liverpool. Not to Saudi Arabia. Not to anyone. No amount of fake news, fraudulent in-the-know chancers or selective quote using aggregator accounts will alter that stance from Newcastle.’
Now in a long piece in The Telegraph explaining the state of play surrounding Isak, Edwards has explained that while Eddie Howe is frustrated at his summer business at St James’ Park, having missed out on a number of top targets, and with James Trafford looking like joining Ekitike in becoming the latest, it has only strengthened his resolve to retain Isak’s services this summer.
Indeed, he states there is a worrying gnaw at Newcastle that they may have ‘hit a ceiling’ and are struggling to break through to get even higher.
And while more players ‘will arrive’ before deadline day, Newcastle are refusing to panic and have very definite plans of their own for Isak that will include offering him a new deal and making him the highest-paid player in their history.
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While insisting Newcastle ‘have refused to be bullied’, Edwards does admit Isak ‘has been unsettled’. It would be impossible not to be, especially with an approach made by Liverpool and with the player having been promised a new contract by former co-owner Amanda Staveley in 2024
However, when former sporting director Paul Mitchell, who left the club last month, decided not to open those talks as Isak had more than three years left on his current deal and the club’s PSR position made it difficult, that led to ‘acrimony’ and the player’s agent ‘felt insulted’. As per Edwards, everything that has followed can be traced back to that moment.
However, as he writes: ‘Newcastle have been steadfast. They insist, from the very top, which means chairman Yasir Al-Rumayaan and co-owner Jamie Reuben, that Isak is not for sale at any price this summer. For the time being, they will let the noise and the distractions die down. They respect the fact the constant speculation about his future has been difficult for him as well as them. But when the dust settles, they will offer him a new deal that would make him the club’s highest earner.”
He adds: ‘Isak is far too good and far too integral to how they play to lose him. Struggling to sign players is one thing; selling the world-class ones you have would be even worse. In a tricky period, that at least has been recognised.’
Howe, himself, certainly admits the player has been unsettled by the speculation surrounding his future and admitted in the wake of that 4-0 loss at Celtic Park: “It was my decision.
“I decided to send him home due to the speculation around him. The last thing he wanted was to be sat in the stand watching — that wasn’t fair to him. But I’m confident he will be a Newcastle player.”
However, Howe did add a caveat to Liverpool’s hopes of still landing Isak, in what would likely end up in them snubbing a proposed Ekitike deal.
He added: “Both [Joelinton and Isak] are fit but not ready to play. Alex has trained and is fine, but we didn’t want to take the risk with him.
Asked again, he added: “I think it’s difficult for me to ever give 100 per cent clarity on any player, I’d never do that.
“All I can say is Alex is happy at Newcastle, he loves the players, the staff, the team.
“I’ve never had any issue with him and I’m confident he’s going to be here at the start of the season.”
Howe then went further and in a pointed message to PIF, he added: “We have a few of those players who are irreplaceable. Your top players are so hard to find, so hard to recruit and so hard to develop. So when you have them, you need to treasure them. Of course, we’re desperate to keep him as part of our team.”
Ornstein points out unusual Liverpool activity over Isak; Trafford miss fears
On the subject of Isak, David Ornstein has described how Liverpool missed out on signing a Manchester City star in January, while sharing why their pursuit of the Sweden striker is somewhat unusual.
Meanwhile, our reporter Rudy Galetti has revealed what is really going on with regards Luis Diaz’s potential exit and the prospects of Real Madrid superstar Rodrygo replacing him at Anfield this summer.
Over at St James’ Park, news over the weekend that Manchester City are emerging as favourites for the signing of Burnley goalkeeper Trafford will not have gone down well with the Magpies and more so after Fabrizio Romano outlined the key advantage they hold in the race.
However, those hopes have been rekindled on Monday morning after it was suggested City’s actual target comes from the continent and they are planning a hefty offer to prise a Portuguese star to the Etihad instead.
Alexander Isak’s wages compared to his Newcastle teammates
Newcastle United’s highest-paid players, with Isak set to move up