Liverpool’s interest in Isak has been apparent throughout the summer, but the reigning Premier League champions upped the ante considerably earlier today when they made formal contact with the hierarchy at St James’ Park.
Liverpool officials have not tabled a bid for Isak, who is contracted to Newcastle to the summer of 2028, but are understood to be willing to pay up to £120m for the Sweden international.
Today’s talks were effectively a means of Liverpool confirming their desire to enter into more detailed negotiations, but senior sources insist Newcastle’s stance over Isak remains unchanged.
The Newcastle hierarchy have no financial need to sell their leading asset, and remain adamant that Isak is not for sale this summer at any price.
However, the fear is that today’s developments are the start of a concerted effort to unsettle Isak, who is currently in Austria with the rest of Newcastle’s first-team squad at a pre-season training camp.
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To this point, the 25-year-old has done nothing to suggest he is unhappy on Tyneside, but Newcastle officials accept they will have to carefully manage the situation if there are indications that Isak’s head has been turned. For now, though, it is a case of ‘business as usual’, with Isak expected to be involved in the Magpies’ opening pre-season friendly at Celtic this weekend.
If Liverpool are unable to engineer a deal for Isak, their next move could well be a push for Ekitike, meaning Newcastle will have to move quickly if they are to complete their own deal for the Eintracht Frankfurt forward.
After a week of discussions between senior officials at Newcastle and Eintracht, Magpies officials tabled a formal offer of around £70m. That bid, which would have broken the Newcastle transfer record, which was paid to sign Isak from Real Sociedad, was rejected.
The Eintracht Frankfurt hierarchy are adamant they will not allow Ekitike to leave unless they receive a package worth around £86m, which is the release-clause figure contained within his current contract. There is scope for negotiation over how that fee is paid, however, with Ekitike’s current employers potentially willing to accept an up-front fee of around £76m, with a further £10m of potential add-ons, provided they are seen to be highly achievable.
Isak’s position on Tyneside has been central to discussions with Ekitike’s representatives as there have been understandable questions about the French forward’s role within the Newcastle team.
Eddie Howe has previously tended to play with just one central striker, but sources claim the Magpies boss is keen to make his side more adaptable and develop a style that would accommodate two forward players without the need for one of them to play as a winger. The same plan was outlined to Joao Pedro when Newcastle were attempting to sign the Brazilian, who eventually ended up joining Chelsea.
Signing Ekitike would be huge coup, with the Magpies having made an unsuccessful attempt to recruit the 23-year-old in the past.
Newcastle held talks with the France Under-23 forward in the summer of 2022 when he was on the verge of leaving Reims, but Ekitike turned down the option of a move to Tyneside in order to sign for Paris St Germain.
He struggled to make a breakthrough at the Parc des Princes, but his career has taken off since he joined Eintracht Frankfurt last summer. Ekitike was hailed as one of the best forwards in the Bundesliga last season, scoring 22 goals in all competitions as his side finished third in the German top-flight and qualified for the Champions League.
Ideally, Frankfurt would like to keep him for another season, but there appears to be an acceptance that his burgeoning status means his current employers will have to cash in this summer.
Newcastle have had a somewhat frustrating summer so far, missing out on Pedro, Liam Delap and Bryan Mbeumo despite targeting all three players, but completing a deal for Ekitike would represent a major step forward following last week’s £52m arrival of Anthony Elanga.
While the Magpies hierarchy are adamant that Ekitike’s arrival would not lead to the departure of Isak, and Newcastle’s improved PSR position means there would not necessarily be a need to sell in order to create the required budgetary headroom to complete the deal, such a major outlay would inevitably lead to questions about possible departures.
Both Harvey Barnes and Anthony Gordon have been tentatively linked with a possible exit this summer, with the latter still reportedly the subject of interest from Arsenal despite the Gunners’ extensive spending of their own so far this summer.