Alexander Isak has told Newcastle that he wants to explore his transfer options this summer – but what are they and could Liverpool pay him? Sky Sports News' Keith Downie, Lyall Thomas and Mark Mcadam answer the most important questions about his future.
Why did Isak Newcastle told that he wants to explore his options when Liverpool has signed Hugo Ekitike and Arsenal, close to the signing of Viktor Gyokeres?
Sky Sports News' Keith Downie:
Isak is frustrated that he was denied the chance last week when Liverpool held an informal approach. Ektike, who was essentially intended as his replacement in Newcastle, moved to Liverpool instead. Looking from the outside, that was another door that closed for Isak.
Eddie Howe said something that struck me in his post-match Persers after the friendly to Celtic. He said, “I am really aware that it is a short career for a football player.” That is something that was probably communicated to him by Isak or his representatives.
I think Isak has the feeling, after having been in Newcastle for three years, to score 62 goals and to win the cup last year, he did what he wanted to achieve.
The development of Isak has been almost faster than that of the club. I am not saying that he has outgrown Newcastle, but he is in a position where he is one of the best strikers in Europe that plays for a team that does not really have the chance to win the Premier League, you would like to imagine.
He is ambitious, wants to win trophies and believes that he should earn £ 250k to £ 300k. He does not earn that in Newcastle, and he knows that the other top strikers in the Premier League make that money. I think he does not want to be denied the possibility of that earning potential.
Is Liverpool really still interested in Isak?
Sky Sports News' Mark Mcadam:
The fact that Liverpool held an approach last week suggests that they were willing to pay compensation, at least in the region of what Newcastle is looking, which is around £ 150 million. That admiration has not only suddenly disappeared with signing Hugo Ekitike.
Liverpool is happy with their strike power and their team, but that does not mean that their company is completed. This is a new summer for Arne Slot. It is the first time that he has really attacked a transfer window since he was appointed a year ago.
He has had 12 months with the players, he understands the Premier League, he is already a Premier League winner winner and he wants to make Liverpool even better, and that means that signing the very best players they can.
Isak is certainly one of, if not the best, striker in the Premier League. Whether Liverpool decides that they can fit both him and Ekitike into their plans, still to be seen, but it is certainly one to look at.
Eddie Howe believed that he could fit Ekitike and Isak in the same team, so why wouldn't it lock?
Can Liverpool afford to sign Isak? Should the sale be made?
Sky Sports News' Mark Mcadam:
Simply put, Liverpool can afford to close a deal for Isak, because they are very sensible and sustainably run by owners FSG and that they have been for a number of years.
I spoke with an independent football financing expert who told me that Liverpool could spend £ 500 million in this summer's transfer window and still PSR compatible because they are being run so well.
In the window of last summer, they only spent £ 12.5 million on Federico Chiesa. They also generated around £ 60 million in players' sales. That means that from last summer they have a big wedge with money in their pocket that was not -pronounced, and that helps them this summer.
Their turnover was £ 614 million in their last series of accounts. Next time it will be even more because of the commercial success, the football success and the bonuses associated with many of those commercial packages they have set up. That is why the income goes up.
With regard to the sale of players, Liverpool has already generated more than £ 60 million. The four players they have moved this summer are Academy players, who represent pure profit under PSR, or have been sold for big profit.
If you then add Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott, those three players can only yield another £ 150 million. That might also create space in the forward line.
When you take that into account, their net may start to see quite healthy, on top of a really well -guided club.
Does Isak have other Premier League options?
Sky Sports News' Lyall Thomas:
It looks unlikely. Arsenal was perhaps the only other club that Liverpool could have really matched for Isak, but they decided to pursue Viktor Gyokeres and it is now expected that he participated in sports.
Chelsea is not in the race for Isak. They have already signed Joao Pedro and Liam Delap this summer and the club has full confidence in the options that have at the front. They think that Isak is a great player, but he is not a Chelsea target.
Manchester United is possible this summer for a striker. However, the prices involved for such a deal immediately exclude them. The focus for United is currently on the sale of players after signing Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.
Isak is not a player who has been considered at United and this last development is expected to change that.
Can someone afford Isak outside the Premier League?
Sky Sports News' Lyall Thomas:
The asking price of Newcastle for Isak is £ 150 million, which eliminates on a handful of clubs. Only the top sides in Europe and some in Saudi Arabia could even consider such a deal with the figures involved.
Barcelona and Real Madrid are the two clubs that usually come in such conversations, but as it looks now, there is no indications that both clubs are for Isak. Barca is currently unable to register their new signs, so it is safe to completely exclude them.
Paris Saint-Germain certainly has the financial power, but again, there is no suggestion that the winners of the Champions League want to pursue a movement for Isak, who would compete directly for a start spot with Ballon d'Or Favorite Ousmane Dembele in Paris.
There is Saudi Pro League interest, but that is unlikely that Isak's ambitions to challenge top trophies in Europe.
What should happen to stay in Newcastle?
Sky Sports News' Keith Downie:
He must be satisfied. It sounds like he is not satisfied at the moment, given that he is being asked to explore other opportunities. I think it is important to say that he has not submitted a transfer search, but he is asked to explore other opportunities, suggesting that he is restless and that he is struck by Liverpool's approach last week.
Eddie Howe is a brilliant man manager. He will have to trust all his experience in management to get Isak's head to the right place for the new season if he wants to stay in Newcastle.
He is still a player from Newcastle, we have to remember that. And if someone is going to buy Isak, they have to pay top dollar to get it.
There was talk of it for a long time that ISAK would open contract discussions through a new contract in Newcastle. That is not explained. I think that there is a frustration that his contract has not been increased that his wage has not risen.
I would like to suggest that the club might have to come to a kind of agreement with him if he would stay, where he got a bit of a wage increase, and perhaps there was a release clause that could leave for a certain price next summer, or a men's agreement, or something to place him a little.
Because there is no doubt a frustration on his part that he feels that opportunities pass him by.
Who could get Newcastle to replace Isak if he left?
Sky Sports News' Keith Downie:
I think the replacement was Hugo Ekitike. He is essentially called a mini-isak. Very similar player, similar style, scores similar goals. Newcastle has enjoyed him for more than three years now, so that would have been the replacement.
There will be a real fear from Newcastle that not only missed Ekitike, but they can also lose Isak. We know that they are talking to Brentford to sign Yoane Wissa, but that was to be the number two for Isak – not to lead their attack.
So the big question is, where would they go if Isak went? Newcastle has investigated a movement for Benjamin Sesko at RB Leipzig. That is only if Isak is leaving and keeping him is a priority.
Sesko would be an expensive one, but Newcastle will have money to spend when Isak goes.
Remember that Newcastle has already missed Liam Delap. They missed Joao Pedro and they missed Ekitike. So are quite far on their list.
I feel that once the dust has been arranged about this, Newcastle could come up with a kind of agreement with Isak that would have to calm him down a bit to enter the new season. They insist that he is not for sale. If he is sold, it would be for megagdated, around £ 150 million.
Time will learn whether Liverpool has received the money to spend both Isak and Ekitike.
What will be enormously intriguing is that the first home game of Newcastle of the season against Liverpool is on Monday evening football, live on Sky Sports. For which team will he play?