{"id":90466,"date":"2025-08-19T22:58:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T22:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=90466"},"modified":"2025-08-19T22:58:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T22:58:00","slug":"broken-promises-whats-going-on-with-isak-newcastle-and-liverpool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=90466","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Broken promises\u2019 \u2013 what\u2019s going on with Isak, Newcastle and Liverpool?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>6 Minute, 10 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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Alexander Isak says promises have been \u201cbroken\u201d by Newcastle United and \u201cthe relationship can\u2019t continue\u201d as he looks to force through an exit this summer.<\/p>\n

Nineteen days have passed since Newcastle rejected Liverpool\u2019s \u00a3110m bid for the Sweden international, who remains in a stand-off with the club over his future.<\/p>\n

BBC Sport understands Isak believed he would be allowed to leave Newcastle if a big club came in for him and offered the right price.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Isak posted a statement on Instagram to explain why he was not in attendance at the Professional Footballers\u2019 Association\u2019s awards gala, where he was named in the\u00a0Premier League team of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve kept quiet for a long time while others have spoken,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat silence has allowed people to push their own version of events, even though they know it doesn\u2019t reflect what was really said and agreed behind closed doors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that promises were made, and the club has known my position for a long time. To act as if these issues are only emerging is misleading.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen promises are broken and trust is lost, the relationship can\u2019t continue. That\u2019s where things are for me right now \u2013 and why change is in the best interests of everyone, not just myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isak has been the biggest talking point of the summer window, which closes on 1 September.<\/p>\n

But Liverpool are yet to return with an improved offer for the 25-year-old.<\/p>\n

Will the Reds bid again? Will he rejoin first-team training in the meantime? What happens if a deal is not completed by the 1 September deadline day?<\/p>\n

BBC Sport has spoken to a number of sources in an attempt to get the latest on these questions and what might happen next.<\/p>\n

Why haven\u2019t Liverpool made another bid for Isak?<\/h2>\n

To explain this, we need to look at Newcastle\u2019s transfers so far.<\/p>\n

After a frustrating summer window, their business has started to pick up.<\/p>\n

They signed midfielder\u00a0Jacob Ramsey\u00a0from Aston Villa for \u00a340m on Sunday, after securing AC Milan defender\u00a0Malick Thiaw\u00a0for a reported \u00a334.6m earlier in the week.<\/p>\n

This added to July\u2019s \u00a355m signing of Nottingham Forest winger\u00a0Anthony Elanga\u00a0and the loan signing of England goalkeeper\u00a0Aaron Ramsdale\u00a0early in August.<\/p>\n

But there is one glaring omission.<\/p>\n

None of these are strikers \u2013 and they really needed one before Isak\u2019s future was thrown into question after the departure of\u00a0Callum Wilson.<\/p>\n

Sources have told BBC Sport one reason there hasn\u2019t yet been a follow-up bid is that any move would be reliant on Newcastle getting two strikers through door.<\/p>\n

Newcastle have maintained publicly that Isak isn\u2019t for sale, but Liverpool know they are looking for two strikers for a reason.<\/p>\n

When \u2013 or perhaps if \u2013 Newcastle do, Liverpool are expected to ramp up their interest with another bid.<\/p>\n

Sources say the next offer will be a minimum \u00a3120m. At the moment, though, it\u2019s a waiting game.<\/p>\n

What is happening with Newcastle\u2019s own striker hunt?<\/h2>\n

So that focuses the mind on to Newcastle\u2019s striker hunt.<\/p>\n

Eddie Howe made no bones about it at the weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like we are looking at any other area,\u201d the Newcastle head coach said following his side\u2019s goalless draw against Aston Villa on Saturday.<\/p>\n

But securing a replacement for Wilson has proved challenging enough \u2013 let alone a second additional striker.<\/p>\n

Newcastle remain interested in\u00a0Yoane Wissa\u00a0but have not yet met Brentford\u2019s asking price of in excess of \u00a340m.<\/p>\n

The DR Congo forward, who was left out of the squad for Sunday\u2019s 3-1 loss at Nottingham Forest, wants to join Newcastle.<\/p>\n

Although Jorgen Strand Larsen is among a small number of centre-forwards on Newcastle\u2019s radar, Wolves do not want to lose him.<\/p>\n

Larsen, only completed a permanent move to Molineux last month after a successful loan spell in which he scored 14 goals in the Premier League.<\/p>\n

The club have already let Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri go this summer.<\/p>\n

Larsen and Wissa illustrate the difficulty Newcastle face, at this stage of the window, to convince a side to part with another key player.<\/p>\n

It fell to Anthony Gordon to lead the line on the opening day and, as it stands, it would be a surprise if the winger did not start up top against Liverpool on Monday night.<\/p>\n

Why have Newcastle found it hard to close some deals?<\/h2>\n

After missing out on a number of targets this summer, it felt like there had been a shift in momentum in the last week after completed moves for Thiaw and Ramsey.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t forget Newcastle have seen top targets like Hugo Ekitike, Benjamin Sesko and Joao Pedro move elsewhere this summer.<\/p>\n

These strikers ended up at Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea respectively and as well as facing intense competition from such clubs, there are other factors at play.<\/p>\n

Take replacing Wilson, for instance.<\/p>\n

Firstly, centre-forwards want minutes so there were not necessarily a queue of quality frontmen lining up to play a supporting role before Isak stopped training with the group.<\/p>\n

Secondly, goalscorers are expensive.<\/p>\n

Newcastle may be in a much stronger financial position this summer after substantial historic losses dropped out of the club\u2019s new three-year Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) cycle.<\/p>\n

But they still have to be smart to sign what those behind the scenes call the \u201cright\u201d player.<\/p>\n

There is not a long list of targets and Newcastle have found that when one coveted striker has potentially become available this summer, his price has then gone up.<\/p>\n

However pressing the need, in the final throes of the window, Newcastle are wary of overpaying given the knock-on effect such a splurge could have on the club\u2019s ability to strengthen in subsequent windows.<\/p>\n

If Isak doesn\u2019t move, can he be reintegrated into the fold?<\/h2>\n

That remains a big \u2018if\u2019, of course.<\/p>\n

Howe has been consistent in his messaging throughout this saga: the door remains open to Isak.<\/p>\n

But the Newcastle head coach stressed what happens next is down to the striker, who continues to train away from the group.<\/p>\n

It certainly felt a long way back for Isak on Saturday after the away end called the Swede \u201cgreedy\u201d following the goalless draw against Aston Villa.<\/p>\n

Yet time is against Isak if he is to get a move to Liverpool, particularly when there are few realistic options left on the market who would be capable of stepping up for Newcastle.<\/p>\n

Omar Chaudhuri, the chief intelligence officer of Twenty First Group, who previously worked with clubs like Newcastle and Tottenham, has noticed a \u201cgreater interest in top-class strikers\u201d compared to years gone by.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlobally, there have been seven centre forwards moving for 50m euros or more this window, compared to two in 2024, six in 2023, and five in 2022,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut clubs should probably temper expectations as to their impact. Of the 19 strikers signed by Premier League clubs for 50m euros or more before this season, perhaps, only Haaland and Isak can be considered unqualified successes.\u201d<\/p>\n

No wonder Howe has maintained that the door is open.<\/p>\n

Trying to, somehow, reintegrate Isak may yet prove one of Newcastle\u2019s better options \u2013 and that is saying something.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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