Liverpool are prepared to smash their transfer record for the second time as Alexander Isak’s Newcastle future was cast into further doubt on Tuesday.
The Premier League champions have already made the statement signing of the summer by signing Florian Wirtz for £116million; they supplemented that by landing another Bayer Leverkusen player, Jeremie Frimpong, as well as Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez.
But the addition of Isak would surpass everything. It will a new British record fee to secure the Sweden international, in advance of £125m, but Liverpool’s intentions are clear: they will move if they receive encouragement.
Newcastle remain adamant that Isak is not for sale and want to enhance his £120,000 per week contract – a task that should have been done on the watch of former Director of Football Paul Mitchell – but talks stalled earlier this year and there has been no progress.
Isak is currently with Newcastle’s squad in Austria for a training camp and they want enhance their forward line by adding Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt but, so far, their bid has fallen way short of the German’s expectations: they want €100m (£86m) for the France Under-21 international.
Mail Sport understands Newcastle have bid £70m for Ekiteke – a player in whom Liverpool also retain an interest – but the structure of what they have offered doesn’t tally with what Frankfurt want; it has been a challenging window so far for Newcastle, who have agreed to sell Sean Longstaff to Leeds.
Liverpool are prepared to smash their transfer record again to sign Alexander Isak this summer
The Newcastle striker would cost upwards of £125million – more than Florian Wirtz did
Eddie Howe’s side have already bid £70m for Hugo Ekitike, a sign they could be planning for life without Isak
Liverpool have been determined to add a striker to their ranks since they secured their 20th title and while Isak represents the ideal choice, it is very much the club’s modus operandi to have other targets in mind should they be required.
Aside from Isak and Etikete, Liverpool have discussed Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins and Yoane Wissa, the livewire Brentford forward who was close to joining Arsenal in January.
Victor Osimhen has also been mentioned during talks with Napoli over Darwin Nunez.
Another intriguing detail is the fact Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford’s name was floated during a conversation but nothing progressed beyond that; there is little potential for that to be resurrected, given the question marks about his form in recent seasons.
This is an exceptionally busy period for Liverpool, who on Tuesday immediately rebuffed an offer for Luis Diaz from Bayern Munich.
The German champions made a £58.5m proposal for the Colombia international but that is miles short of the Anfield club’s £86m valuation.
That figure is identical to fee Manchester United rejected for their captain Bruno Fernandes from Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal at the beginning of June.
Diaz, who is two years younger than the Portuguese, was the subject of firm interest from Al Nassr.
The fee for Isak would surpass the total £116m which they could shell out for Wirtz if all add-ons clauses are met
Adding Isak to the squad would take Liverpool’s transfer overhaul to more than £300m
Newcastle are currently away in Austria for their pre-season training camp (pic: Eddie Howe)
The Magpies, who are back in the Champions League, remain adamant Isak is not for sale
In a situation that mirrors Isak’s position on Tyneside, though, sources in Colombia have told Mail Sport that while Diaz has huge affection for Liverpool, he doesn’t believe his current salary represents his value to the club. There have been no signs of them renewing the 28-year-old’s terms.
Barcelona have also been persistently linked with Diaz but they have not made any contact.
Liverpool, clearly, will offload some of their squad in the coming weeks. Napoli are the only club to make contact over Darwin Nunez but their offer of £55m, including add-ons, was miles short.
Nunez, who scored in the 3-1 win at Preston last Sunday, was Liverpool’s club record signing in 2022 at £84m and the intention is to recoup £70m. England Under-21 pair Harvey Elliott and Tyler Morton also have admirers.
