1 week ago
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It should come as no surprise that when I heard the news of Liverpool's approach to sign Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, I sighed heavily.
On Tuesday, it was reported that the Reds had approached the Magpies over a potential move that could see Liverpool bolster their attack with Newcastle's star striker. While Liverpool.com understands no formal offer has been submitted, it is widely understood Newcastle also has zero intention of selling the Swedish international. In fact, Newcastle responded quickly and firmly to the approach.
For the record, while I write occasionally for Liverpool.com, I am a Newcastle fan, born and bred. When Isak scored the second goal in the Carabao Cup final last season against Liverpool, I was left in a state of disbelief, laughing uncontrollably at the fact that we might win some silverware.
Over the last two years, Newcastle fans have had to deal with Isak being heavily, and I mean HEAVILY, linked with Arsenal, almost to the point where it got a bit weird.
However, while a move to Arsenal never really looked to be close to happening, this interest from Liverpool worries all of us, for several reasons.
The first of which is this: if Liverpool really wants to sign Isak, who scored 23 goals in the Premier League last term, they probably could.
For Newcastle to part with their star forward, it would take more than the £120 million ($161m) Liverpool reportedly approached the Magpies with, a figure that could be reachable should the Reds sell Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz for big fees.
More importantly, however, what makes it harder for Newcastle fans is that Isak is, alongside the Premier League's record goal scorer, Alan Shearer, the best striker many have seen. On his day, he is absolutely unplayable.
And if you were to take emotions out of it, realistically, for Isak, a move to Merseyside represents the opportunity for him to immediately be able to challenge for the Premier League and Champions League.
While Newcastle want to be able to compete for those trophies under the ownership of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, they are still miles behind Liverpool at almost every level.
The second reason Liverpool's interest worries me as a Newcastle supporter is what it says to the likes of Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes and Tino Livramento. Selling your star striker, who helped you win your first trophy in 70 years, is likely not going to go down well with Newcastle's key players, especially with a huge season on the horizon for the club.
While they have added Anthony Elanga, Newcastle has missed out this summer on the likes of Bryan Mbuemo (although are Manchester United actually going to sign him?), Joao Pedro and Liam Delap. If they lose Isak too, where on earth does that leave them in terms of recruitment?
That then feeds into the third reason. Newcastle, up until yesterday, were widely expected to be leading the charge to sign Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike, who is also a target for Liverpool.
However, the approach for Isak from Liverpool is two-pronged. If Newcastle hold firm and say Isak isn't for sale, there is nothing to stop Liverpool from trying to land Ekitike, with Newcastle having done all the legwork on working towards a fee, only to have the Reds jump in at the last second, leaving the Magpies without a player they have wanted since January 2022.
But, conversely, if they do keep hold of Isak, which they want to (and for my money, must do), then what is to stop the Swede from running down his contract next? He will have one year left on his deal next summer and Newcastle will be in a much worse position to negotiate than they are this summer.
All in all, you can't blame Liverpool for operating shrewdly in the transfer market. They've made Newcastle's life difficult with the approach for Isak and the Magpies will have to think long and hard about whether or not to sell up.
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