Inside Alexander Isak's feud with Newcastle as striker misses out on Liverpool audition

More often that not, games between Newcastle and Liverpool in the Premier League have yielded goals. Plenty of them, in fact. But Newcastle will be without their primary source of goals in their latest encounter with the Reds.

Alexander Isak has been the Magpies' top scorer in successive seasons and their top dog in attack since joining the club back in 2022. But the Sweden international now finds himself at the heart of the transfer saga of the summer rather than the penalty box after taking the decision that his time on Tyneside is up.

Isak, 25, has made it clear that he covets a move to the reigning Premier League champions, who would be happy to oblige if Newcastle soften their stance in the final seven days of the transfer window.

The noises which have come from the club in recent weeks would indicate that is not the case, though, meaning Isak could be left in limbo well beyond both Monday night's game and the end of the transfer window next week...

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Newcastle headed into the summer with a spring in their step after qualifying for the Champions League and winning their first major trophy in a generation after - ironically - beating Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final back in March.

Rumblings of interest in Isak was nothing new if not annoying; Arsenal and Liverpool had routinely been mentioned with Newcastle's star striker in the second half of the 2024-25 campaign. But the noise around Isak's future grew with each passing week. A crescendo was reached when the Magpies' No 9 did not travel for their pre-season tour of Asia before training alone at his former club, Real Sociedad. From there on in, developments felt inevitable and it came as no surprise when news of an approach from Liverpool finally arrived.

Liverpool make their move

Talk of Liverpool's interest in Isak earlier in the summer had come with the not insignificant caveat of the champions' remarkable summer spending spree. A £116million outlay on Florian Wirtz alone meant that Liverpool would have to smash the British transfer record twice in one summer if they were serious about prising Isak away from St James' Park. And that was before they swooped in to poach Hugo Ekitike, Newcastle's top No 9 target, from under the Magpies' nose.

Liverpool are in rude financial health, though, and they did indeed lodge a formal offer for Isak at the start of the month. Their £110m proposal was dismissed out of hand and they have not yet returned to the negotiating table, even if many feel it is a foregone conclusion that they will do so well before September 1 rolls round.

Isak speaks out

For all the talk of Isak, Newcastle and Liverpool, one party had largely been silent throughout the saga: Isak himself. But the frontman shattered that silence last week to explain why, in his own words, the relationship between him and Newcastle could not continue.

There have been suggestions that Isak was less than impressed when contract talks were shelved and he alluded to 'broken promises' from the club's top brass, though his own conduct throughout the summer has left little to be desired. Newcastle, though, responded in turn to shoot down suggestions that Isak had never been promised a move. The most important part of said statement was Newcastle explaining that they had not received any proposals fit to meet their conditions for a sale. "We do not foresee those conditions being met," they added.

What's next?

Well, the only thing we can be sure of is that Isak will not be playing for either team when they run out at St James' Park on Monday evening. Perhaps the only certainty beyond that is that we have not heard the end of this saga.

For one, while Liverpool haven't necessarily looked short on firepower in their opening Premier League matches, there is a clearly an appetite to install Isak as the shiny new centrepiece in their refurbished attack. Whether they will stump up the £150m fee that Newcastle are thought to be holding out for is another issue.

While Liverpool have spent freely this summer, Newcastle have struggled to write cheques at times. Not because of their financial health, but rather because a number of their key targets have proved to be unattainable. That is believed to be a factor behind their ironclad stance on Isak: even if they can rake in a record transfer fee, what good is it if they cannot trade those riches for an adequate replacement?

Liverpool sources insist they will not pursue any player who is not realistically available, but the expectation is that a new offer for Isak will be made after their trip to Tyneside. From a Newcastle point of view, Eddie Howe has not shut the door on reintegrating Isak once the window closes even though the player is adamant that he has played his last game for the club. In short, something has to give.

A hostile atmosphere awaits at St James' Park on Monday night. But for once during the Premier League era, Newcastle vs Liverpool looks likely to be upstaged by happenings off the pitch, rather than what occurs on it.

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