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Newcastle United is reportedly frustrated at being left in limbo over Alexander Isak, while Liverpool mulls over a potential bid for the striker. The Reds have identified Isak as a key target as they look to revamp their forward line ahead of the new Premier League season.
Isak has yet to make an appearance for Newcastle during pre-season due to a minor thigh injury that ruled him out of the friendly against Celtic earlier this month and the club's ongoing tour of Asia.
The Magpies are facing mounting pressure regarding their position that Isak, who has long been on Liverpool's radar, is not up for grabs this summer.
According to reports from The Chronicle in the North East of the UK, Newcastle bosses are growing increasingly irritated by the persistent chatter about Liverpool's interest in Isak without any formal offer being tabled.
They suspect that the Reds are biding their time to raise funds from the sale of their forwards before making a move. This week saw Luis Diaz transfer to Bayern Munich for $87M, while Darwin Nunez, Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott could all be offloaded.
It's believed that Isak is keen on a switch to Liverpool, having previously expressed to Newcastle's top brass his openness to a fresh challenge away from St James' Park.
Despite its annoyance at the current situation, Newcastle appears to be gearing up for life post-Isak with its pursuit of RB Leipzig forward Benjamin Sesko. However, it seems Manchester United is now leading the race to sign the Slovenian international.
The Magpies have also shown interest in Brentford's Yoane Wissa, but the London club has yet to indicate any readiness to let their forward leave. They were recently outpaced by Liverpool in securing the signature of Eintracht Frankfurt's Hugo Ekitike.
Currently, with Newcastle stationed in South Korea, Isak has been spotted training with a personal coach in San Sebastian. Spanish media reports suggest that the 25-year-old has returned to his former stomping ground at Real Sociedad to gear up for the upcoming season.
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Moreover, the League Cup champions are anticipating the player's availability for the home friendly matches next weekend against Espanyol and Atletico Madrid.
Liverpool.com says: It does seem like Isak wants a move to Liverpool as soon as possible, but the Reds likely want to get some money in first after already going big on transfers this summer.
That should give Newcastle the opportunity to try an convince the striker to sign a new deal, but it does seem that ship might have already sailed. You can't really blame Liverpool playing a bit of a waiting game in this situation.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Liverpool ECHO by clicking here.
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