Liverpool are poised to ‘strike with one last bid’ for Alexander Isak, with ‘insiders’ revealing things could move quickly after a ‘significant’ point has been reached.
Isak is currently training apart from his Newcastle teammates and refusing to play for the club as he looks to force through a move to Liverpool, with the striker citing ‘broken promises’ as the reason for his strike action in a statement he released on social media on Tuesday.
Isak said on Instagram: “I’ve kept quiet for a long time while others have spoken.
“That silence has allowed people to push their own version of events, even though they know it doesn’t reflect what was really said and agreed behind closed doors.
“The reality is that promises were made and the club has known my position for a long time. To now act as if these issues are only emerging is misleading.
“When promises are broken and trust is lost, the relationship can’t continue. That’s where things are for me right now – and why change is in the best interests of everyone, not just myself.”
Releasing a statement in response, Newcastle said: “We have been clear that the conditions for a sale this summer have not transpired. We do not foresee these conditions being met.”
It leaves Isak in limbo, with Liverpool unlikely to bid again until doors are opened that Newcastle insist will remain closed, though manager Eddie Howe made a telling statement in his press conference on Friday.
Howe said: “It looks like it is coming to an end, or it will come to an end pretty quickly.”
And that may well be because of the looming clash between Newcastle and Liverpool at St James’ Park on Monday, according to Chronicle Live’s chief Newcastle correspondent Lee Ryder.
He claims that ‘the word from insiders – at both ends of the deal – is that everything post-Monday night feels significant’, suggesting Liverpool are waiting until after that game ‘to strike with one last bid for the Sweden star’.
Ryder added:
‘Newcastle were never going to gift Liverpool their prized striker and then watch on as Isak made his debut in red against the Magpies at St James’ Park.
‘And there is a feeling at the Anfield end that there was always going to be a follow up to the bid of around £110m which was launched at the start of this month, however, it was hardly going to come in the build-up to the Reds’ visit to St James’ Park.’
When asked whether Isak could be sold and not replaced, Howe told the press conference: “I don’t think the club will allow that situation to happen.”
Providing an update on Newcastle’s seemingly doomed search for a new striker, the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope revealed a ‘new name in the mix’.
He wrote on X: ‘Newcastle currently exploring two or three striker options as they wait for progress (or otherwise) on Yoane Wissa. Answers wanted today. One new name in the mix & discussed is Alexander Sorloth at Atletico Madrid. As for Jorgen Strand-Larsen, Wolves do NOT want to sell.’