Over the past month, there has been a consistent message from Newcastle United (and the media) surrounding Alexander Isak’s sale.
This message has been that Newcastle must receive something close to £150m AND sign two strikers to sanction the sulking Swede’s move to Liverpool. It’s been repeatedly constantly that this is PIF’s stance.
One striker is in, with Nick Woltemade signing in a £69m move from Stuttgart on Saturday, but a second feels absolutely essential in a 50-plus game season as we still wait for that much-needed Callum Wilson replacement.
Newcastle’s hopes of signing that necessary striker hang in the balance, but the noises late on Sunday night suggest that our stance is softening on Isak’s sale and the terms we’ll demand to allow him to join Liverpool.
The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards claims that, for the very first time, PIF and club chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan have told Liverpool that a deal is there to be done on deadline day if £130m is offered.
David Ornstein of The Athletic also reports that talks are ramping up over Isak’s potential switch to Merseyside, although it’s currently believed Liverpool may offer £120m, which would be £10m short of the £130m compromise reportedly put forward by PIF.
Earlier this year, Craig Hope reported that Al-Rumayyan had instructed the club to resist ALL offers for Isak, but the situation has turned sour and it’s unclear if there is now any route back for the 25-year-old after he told Jamie Reuben and a PIF delegation on Monday that he will not reintegrate.
From my perspective, his exit won’t hurt if a record sale is followed by another striker signing at St James’ Park. But it will be a huge blow at the end of a turbulent window and costly mistake if we allow him to go without signing a replacement.
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