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Former Newcastle United striker Shola Ameobi, who is now both a club ambassador and the Magpies' loans manager, has responded to Liverpool being interested in the Swedish forward Alexander Isak.
So far, Newcastle has insisted that its star man will not be leaving. But the player himself has told his current employer that he would like to move on, and the Magpies are looking at both Yoane Wissa (Brentford) and Benjamin Sesko (RB Leipzig) who both play in his position.
"At the end of the day, this is football, and when you are trying to mix it with the best teams, you are going to have great players that other teams want," Ameobi told Chronicle Live.
"The thing for us is where we are at as a club, an ownership, we are really ambitious. We want to do our best for the club. They have shown that right from the get-go, and that is not going to change.
"There are things happening in the background. We are really keen to communicate that the club are going to do what is best for the club.
"Whatever happens will only be what is right for the club, and I have great faith that the people who make the decisions will make the right ones long-term."
Ameobi has been with Newcastle's first team this summer, with the club having been on tour in Asia. But Isak is not with his teammates and instead stayed at home, before traveling to Spain to train at his former side, Real Sociedad.
"The whole thing can be unsettling, the surrounding noise behind it," Ameobi added.
"But I know inside the squad from being at the team hotel, everybody is focused on the job. That is to qualify through the group stages of the Champions League and make it back into the top four, while trying to win another trophy.
"(The Isak situation) does not change any of that. We have to be level-headed around this and focus on the task at hand. It will be a long, grueling season."
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Newcastle qualified for the Champions League last season but doesn't have a huge squad in terms of depth. It has signed Anthony Elanga for big money but has struggled to attract other top stars.
Eddie Howe insisted this week that nothing had changed on the Isak front and had already made clear that there was no chance of the Swede rejoining his Newcastle teammates while they were in Asia.
The first game at St James' Park next season is Newcastle vs Liverpool.
Liverpool.com says: If the Reds get the green light to make a move for Isak, it appears that the player is already convinced on the switch. It could all come down to whether or not Howe manages to sign a replacement.
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