‘Newcastle dealt worrying Alexander Isak update despite Liverpool’s Ekitike breakthrough’
Newcastle may have been relieved when Liverpool beat them to the signing of Hugo Ekitike, but there’s still a chance they could lose Alexander Isak.
The Magpies were long-time admirers of Ekitike and thought they’d made a breakthrough in signing him recently.
However, Liverpool swooped late for the France international and are now set to conclude a deal imminently.
The Reds have also shown serious interest in Isak, who has netted 44 Premier League goals across the last two seasons combined, but Eddie Howe has remained steadfast in his desire to keep him at St. James’ Park.
Liverpool not done with Alexander Isak
Despite Arne Slot adding Ekitike to his squad, his interest in Isak shows no sign of slowing down.
In fact, BBC Sports‘ Sami Mokbel has hinted at possible ‘private encouragement’ around Anfield that they can still land a deal for the Sweden international — either in this window or next summer when Isak will have just two years left on his contract.
“Liverpool’s interest in Alexander Isak was – or rather is – entirely genuine. Newcastle, at least publicly, have maintained the Sweden international simply isn’t for sale,” said Mokbel (21 July).
“But for Liverpool to have stepped up their efforts to land Isak in recent days suggests they have had some private encouragement to the contrary.
“Even now their decision to focus on Hugo Ekitike has come to fruition, you can expect Liverpool’s interest in Isak to remain.
“The former Real Sociedad forward, as things stand, will enter the final two years of his contract next summer — a juncture at which Newcastle face significantly more jeopardy.
“Of course, Liverpool may enter next summer’s transfer window believing they don’t require another centre-forward.
“But if they do, Isak is unlikely to be too far away from their thoughts.”
What has Eddie Howe said about Alexander Isak?
Isak was sent home ahead of Newcastle‘s 4-0 friendly loss to Celtic at the weekend amid rampant speculation about his future.
That only served to fuel the fires burning regarding his future at St. James’ Park, with the 25-year-old one of the hottest strikers in Europe right now.
However, Newcastle boss Howe has once again dug in regarding Isak’s future, insisting the decision to send him home from Glasgow was for his own protection and that he remains a part of his plans.
“It was my decision. He travelled to Glasgow with us but I decided to send him home due to the speculation around him,” Howe said (Sky Sports, 20 July).
“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 come the end of the window.”
On Isak’s quality, Howe added: “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.”
Football Insider verdict
Howe has a point; recruiting someone of Isak’s quality could easily prove impossible for Newcastle. Especially after their first-choice striker target this summer already rejected them for Liverpool.
With a Champions League campaign to look forward to, the Magpies should — and will — be doing everything in their power to keep Isak.
There will be financial losses to that, but you only have to look at the celebrations following Newcastle’s drought-ending EFL Cup triumph to see where the priority of the fanbase lies. Football is about far more than just money.
Of course, the pull of Liverpool can often feel inevitable in England. Especially with the Reds winning the title last season and building an incredible team for their Premier League defence — already signing the likes of Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez ahead of Ekitike’s arrival.
Howe and Newcastle will continue to dig in, but as is often the case in football, the player holds the power. If he wants to leave and Liverpool can pay, the Magpies may be powerless to stop him.