The saga of the summer looks to be wrapping up on the Premier League’s deadline day, with Newcastle United accepting a £130m bid for wantaway striker Alexander Isak to move to Liverpool FC.
The Magpies’ Saudi owners, who have been determined to get as much cash as possible for their star number nine, gave the club the ‘OK’ to sell Isak, even without a clear replacement coming the other way.
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Isak will still have to undergo a crunch-time medical, but assuming he passes that, he’ll join Arne Slot’s team in a buzzer-beater signing on August 31 (in the U.K.).
The 25-year-old Swedish striker has been trying to push through the move since the window opened.
In fact, Newcastle were so difficult about the transfer — or one could say wily, considering they eventually did up the price with their antics — that Isak’s relationship with the club totally fell apart in the interim. He refused to play at all to start the Premier League campaign and totally missed the club’s preseason training as he pushed for the sale.
The protracted signing has dominated English headlines for some months, and now it tops the history books too, eclipsing Chelsea’s then league-high £115 million transfer that saw Moisés Caicedo leave Brighton for an eight-year deal.
Liverpool has yet to formally unveil the signing, though that’s admin-related.
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Isak is now signed for Liverpool through to 2031. He was their first choice striker signing even before bringing in Hugo Ekitike; with the latter French signing already settling in quite well in red, the two are expected to go toe to toe for the starting nine role.
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Should Isak settle in, he’ll likely force Ekitike to play out wide to retain a starting position. The Swede has been one of the in-form players of the Premier League recently, scoring 23 league goals last season as Newcastle returned to Champions League football. He also scored in the League Cup final against Liverpool to give them their first domestic trophy in 70 years.
As for where Newcastle goes now, they may have shortchanged themselves by being stubborn. Eddie Howe did once grimly describe the whole affair as “lose-lose,” and considering the top four hopefuls are heading into the end of deadline day with a whole pile of cash and no superstar striker, it does appear like the Magpies did come off worse for wear.
Leading options include Brentford’s Yoane Wissa and Wolverhampton’s Jorgen Strand Larsen.
