‘Newcastle owners are going to fund Liverpool’s signing of Alexander Isak – it’s lunacy’
Newcastle’s owners may inadvertently fund Liverpool’s pursuit of Alexander Isak with their pursuit of Darwin Nunez.
The Reds have a clear plan this summer to find a striker to bolster Arne Slot’s side and it may come at the Magpies’ expense.
Mohamed Salah was by far and away the best player in the Premier League last season, but the Egyptian’s magic was not enough to help his side as they crashed out of the last-16 of the Champions League knockout stage.
But having scored just seven goals in 47 appearances last season, Liverpool’s patience with Nunez seems to have worn thin, and the striker is expected to move to Saudi Arabia this summer with Al-Hilal leading the race for the ex-Benfica man.
Sources revealed to Football Insider that Liverpool made a record-breaking bid of £130million for Isak on 15 July.
Speaking to Football Insider exclusively, finance expert Stefan Borson warned that given Newcastle‘s owners, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) also owns Al-Hilal, they may inadvertently be funding the Reds’ pursuit of the 25-year-old striker.
Newcastle owners funding Liverpool’s Isak move
Speaking to Football Insider exclusively, Borson explained that Liverpool may be able to up their offer for Isak if they receive a “crazy fee” for Nunez.
But that money would be coming from the PIF, and as such, may force some of football’s governing bodies to investigate the deals.
Borson said: “I think if Liverpool, on the other hand, if Liverpool could get some crazy fee for Nunez out of Saudi Arabia, say, to the point where they could put, let’s say £150m on the table.
“I don’t know, maybe, but then you’ve just got the lunacy of a situation where on the one hand, PIF are paying for a Liverpool player and then Liverpool are just giving them the money back via Newcastle.
“And by the way, if that was to occur, there’s a very good chance that there’d be people looking at the deal and going, hang on a minute, that looks those deals look connected.
“Because on the one hand, you’ve got a connected party of Newcastle United buying a player from Liverpool, and then Liverpool buying from Newcastle who are a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia.
“So I think there’s all sorts of challenges with the deal, so as I say, I think the most likely scenario is Isak stays at Newcastle.”
Newcastle miss out on Hugo Ekitike
The story of the Magpies’ window is fast becoming about the players the club have failed to sign, rather than about the stars they have secured.
Anthony Elanga made the move from Nottingham Forest to Newcastle, but that deal only happened after Eddie Howe’s side missed out on Bryan Mbeumo and Joao Pedro.
Hugo Ekitikie has chosen to join Liverpool, meaning the French striker can be added to the list of nearly-men for the North Eastern side.
The former PSG striker’s decision to choose Anfield over St. James’ Park now makes it paramount that Newcastle do not lose Isak.