Alexander Isak is a Liverpool player and the Premier League champions have a clear conscience about their pursuit of the former Newcastle United star.
Liverpool broke the British transfer record to sign Isak, who has penned a six-year contract at Anfield after leaving Newcastle United in the lurch.
Newcastle reluctantly sold Isak after the player made it clear he no longer wanted to play for the club – despite having three years to run on his contract.
Sadly for Newcastle fans, Liverpool were successful in their summer-long pursuit of the 25-year-old. Indeed, Newcastle were baffled by Liverpool’s first bid for Isak, which came to around £110million.
However, they waited for Newcastle to agree deals for Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa before swooping for one of the world’s best strikers, paying well below the reported £150million Newcastle initially wanted.
The Reds, however, do not believe they were wrong to pursue Isak in the manner that they did.
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty ImagesLiverpool think Alexander Isak and Newcastle United already had problems
According to The Athletic, those inside Anfield have a clear conscience about how they conducted themselves during the biggest transfer saga of the summer.
They believe that Isak had problems with Newcastle long before they made their move.
Isak was disappointed he wasn’t given a new contract at Newcastle in 2024, which is generally thought to be the “broken” promise he was talking about in an Instagram story posted before he eventually left the club.
Insiders put out by Liverpool’s transfer push this summer
Marc Guehi almost joined Isak at Liverpool on the final day of the transfer window, after they waited all summer to agree a fee with Crystal Palace.
According to Miguel Delaney in his Inside Football newsletter: “Liverpool found dealing with Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish more difficult than the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, which is a remarkable statement that says enough about this pandemonium of a window in itself.
“Sources say Parish was understandably irritated that Liverpool ended up coming in so late, and Newcastle could have had similar complaints. A few executives in football were a bit put out by the manner of Liverpool’s business, even if they are now in awe of their team.”
Liverpool were ruthless this summer, there’s little doubt about that. Still, to pretend Newcastle didn’t put a foot wrong over Isak would be unwise.
Clearly, the player’s conduct cannot be justified. However, all was not well on Tyneside long before Liverpool seriously came in.
Newcastle wanted Isak to stay but the situation got so bad, they had to sell. Liverpool have done a number on Newcastle this summer.