David Ornstein has suggested when Liverpool will agree a deal with Newcastle United for the signing of Alexander Isak, while also revealing that the striker has been eyeing a transfer for an entire year.
Isak has not featured in any of Newcastle’s pre-season fixtures. It was initially thought that he did not travel for their tour of Asia due to a minor thigh issue, but his scan came back clear.
TEAMtalk transfer correspondent Fraser Fletcher exclusively revealed on July 24 that Isak is pushing to leave Newcastle as he has been left disappointed by their transfer dealings and is concerned about their ambitions.
Isak has subsequently moved out of his home in Newcastle and informed the club he does not intend to play for them ever again.
After formally registering their interest in the Swede, Liverpool had an offer for him worth £110million plus add-ons rejected by Newcastle.
Liverpool are expected to return with a new bid worth around £120-130m, while Newcastle are holding out for £150m.
During an appearance on NBC Sports, Ornstein hinted that an agreement could be reached after the two clubs face each other in the Premier League on Monday, August 25.
“It’s arguably the biggest story of this summer, and we haven’t heard the end of it yet. The news I broke in the week was that Alexander Isak has no intention of playing for Newcastle again. That’s his perspective,” the journalist said.
“In his mind, the Newcastle chapter is over. Even if a deal is not done to secure his departure before the transfer window closes, his mind is not in the place of being reintegrated in Eddie Howe’s squad. So that is a pretty drastic development.
“What we know is that Newcastle have no intention of selling him. They’ve been clear and consistent in that for a very long time.
“He’s under contract – a very lucrative one – until the summer of 2028. However, they are looking for replacements for the event of him leaving.
“Liverpool have made an offer, £110m, it was rejected immediately. They’ve not come back since, but their interest is ongoing and they’d be ready to [come back] if they receive encouragement, should Newcastle get their replacement.
“What we also learn now, is that despite Newcastle’s stance, and despite Isak seemingly being content and happy towards the end of last season, we now know that two weeks before the end of the season he told Eddie Howe personally that he wanted to leave this summer.
“He repeated that after the final game of the season against Everton before going back to his native Sweden. So this has been rumbling for some time.
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“In his mind, he also let Newcastle know about his intentions as long as a year ago, when they said to him there would be no new contract because of their attempts to comply with PSR. And also the fact that he earns so much already, and at that point he was still under contract for four more years.
“People around Newcastle I speak to deny that, I’ve got to be clear. They say, ‘that’s not true, he was always open in our mind to talking about this at the end of the season and maybe even signing a new contract’.
“So it’s got very messy, it’s clearly emotional. But Isak hasn’t played a pre-season friendly, he’s not going to be playing for Newcastle at Aston Villa.
“We’re gonna have to wait and see if something gives on this. Maybe after the teams play there could be a resolution one way or the other, when they face each other on the 25th [August].
“I can’t say which way it’s gonna go, it feels in the balance. We’re gonna have to see how it plays out, but he certainly wants that move to Liverpool.”
A fellow transfer reporter claimed on Friday that Isak ‘WILL get his dream Liverpool move’, with the saga getting ‘more toxic’.
Newcastle are ramping up their own striker search, as they are looking to bring in Yoane Wissa and Goncalo Ramos.
Such transfers would ‘facilitate Isak’s move to Liverpool’, as per Newcastle correspondent Craig Hope.
Isak has reportedly agreed a six-year contract with Liverpool already.
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