21 hours ago
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Publicly, Newcastle United is still completely uninterested in selling Alexander Isak to Liverpool this summer. Then again, it was not long ago that it was publicly intending to pair Isak with Hugo Ekitike in attack.
As ever, there are all sorts of agendas at play, designed to drive down prices or save face among fans. The truth can only be found written between the lines.
And with Newcastle vs. Liverpool just hours away, the actions of the Magpies hierarchy appeared to speak far louder than their words. Although I have been convinced for some time that Isak will not end up at Anfield come September 1, the latest activity coming out of St James' Park has offered a scrap of hope to Arne Slot, Richard Hughes and co.
With Eddie Howe preparing for the challenge of facing one-time target Ekitike, Newcastle's transfer department (such as it is, in the absence of a sporting director) has continued to move down its list of names. Specifically, it made a $68 million (£50 million) bid for Jorgen Strand Larsen of Wolves.
So began the briefings and counter-briefings. In The Athletic, for instance, it was suggested that Strand Larsen is viewed as a potential replacement for Callum Wilson, who left Newcastle on a free transfer this summer.
A similar line has been bandied about when it comes to Yoane Wissa of Brentford, another forward on whom Newcastle is keen. But it never seemed overly plausible that a 19-goal Premier League striker from last season was genuinely being lined up to replace Wilson, a 33-year-old who managed 357 minutes and no league goals or assists in his final campaign with the Magpies.
Similarly, Strand Larsen would represent a major upgrade on Wilson, having notched 14 goals and four assists last season. And more importantly, are we really supposed to believe that Newcastle would be putting $68 million on the table for a back-up forward, at a time when PSR continues to mean that every single penny counts?
Strand Larsen, for his part, is said to be keen on the move, albeit not agitating for it. Howe has surely not pitched him a vision of warming the St James' Park bench behind Isak.
In short, this appears to be a pretty clear sign that Newcastle is continuing to look for viable Isak replacements, thereby facilitating a potential move to Liverpool before the transfer window shuts. If the matter was as closed as the club's public stance indicates, it is difficult to imagine that this kind of bid would have been made.
Unfortunately, however, this is the stage where the saga runs into another obstacle. Wolves has given short shrift to the Strand Larsen bid, rejecting it out of hand.
The stance out of the Midlands club is that he is not for sale at any price. Wolves may well be fighting relegation this season, and there is not enough time left in the window to source an adequate replacement.
And time, more than anything else, could be the great enemy when it comes to Isak. Everyone involved is running out of it.
The closer we get to the deadline, the more Newcastle will come up against reluctant sellers. One forward, rather than the stated two, might be enough to contemplate Isak's departure — but even completing that single signing is looking more complicated by the day.
After all, without the pressures of the looming deadline, $68 million would surely get a deal for Strand Larsen done. But Newcastle has arrived too late, and Wolves now has every right to dig its heels in, especially given that its striker has shown no sign of downing tools.
While the anger among the opposing fans will be channelled toward Liverpool in today's game, the real story of this Isak transfer saga is Newcastle's bungling incompetence. It has lurched from target to target without success, and the "lose-lose" acknowledged by Howe is entirely of the club's own making.
The continued hunt for a striker suggests that Newcastle still realizes its best way out of this mess may be via an Isak sale. He and Liverpool will both remain on alert for any progress — but while the Strand Larsen bid suggests the Magpies are more willing than they have let on, the response from Wolves underlines that time is very nearly up.
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