Isak was omitted from the Newcastle squad that flew to Singapore earlier this morning ahead of a three-game Asian tour, with the club communicating that the striker had been left at home because of a “minor thigh issue”.
The Swede is understood to be nursing a thigh problem, but it has subsequently emerged that his representatives have conveyed his desire to consider his future to senior members of the hierarchy at St James’ Park.
There will now be a period of intense discussions, with Newcastle’s ownership group having to decide what to do with the club’s star player while Isak and his representatives assess what transfer options are likely to present themselves in the next few weeks.
Eddie Howe was adamant that Newcastle had not received a formal approach for Isak when he was questioned on the ongoing speculation in the wake of last weekend’s friendly defeat to Celtic, but Liverpool are known to have inquired about the striker’s position just over a week ago.
At that stage, the reigning Premier League champions were told that Isak was not for sale, hence their decision to make an alternative move for Hugo Ekitike. The French forward completed a £79m move from Eintracht Frankfurt yesterday, but that does not necessarily signal the end of Liverpool’s interest in Isak.
The Reds had been willing to pay around £120m for Isak prior to moving for Ekitike, and their desire to sign a player who scored 23 Premier League goals last season remains as strong as ever.
Financially, they may have to sell to raise the funds and PSR headroom needed to sign Isak this summer, with Luis Diaz regarded as the player most likely to be sacrificed if they opt to make a formal offer to Newcastle.
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There has also been strong suggestions of Saudi Arabian interest in Isak, with Al-Hilal reportedly willing to pay whatever is required to take the 25-year-old to the Saudi Pro League.
Al-Hilal, who are 75 per cent owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, who are also the majority owners of Newcastle, are hoping to make a marquee acquisition this summer, but the fact that Magpies director Abdulmajeed Al-Haqbani has a dual role with the Saudi club would make a transfer potentially problematic.
Whether Isak would be interested in a move to the Middle East is also a moot point, although if he was to join Al-Hilal, the Swede would almost certainly become one of the highest-paid players in the world game.
With uncertainty over his position at Newcastle now public, there is the chance that other clubs could opt to make a move for Isak, although the Magpies’ likely asking price would rule all but a handful out of the running.
While Newcastle have never publicly put a price on Isak’s head, they would be unwilling to even consider a deal for less than the British-record fee of more than £116m that Liverpool paid to sign Florian Wirtz earlier this summer. If Isak was to leave Tyneside this summer, there is a chance any fee would have to exceed the £150m mark.
An alternative would be for Newcastle to negotiate a new contract with Isak, who currently has three years of current deal remaining. That will not be cheap, however, with reports having suggested that Isak and his representatives regard £300,000-a-week as a minimum starting point for negotiations.
Not only would that figure completely demolish Newcastle’s current wage ceiling, it would also have massive ramifications in terms of the club’s PSR position in the next few years. It would also almost inevitably lead to demands for a contractual improvement from the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali, who are currently paid a broadly similar sum to Isak.
The situation is something of a nightmare for both the Newcastle hierarchy, who had hoped to make Isak the figurehead of their commercial and promotional activity in the Far East, and Eddie Howe, who is having to prepare his side for the new Premier League season amid a backdrop of huge uncertainty over the future of his star player.
Howe was able to name Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall in the squad that flew to Singapore today. Livramento is now back in full training after being granted an extended break following his exertions with England at the European Under-21s Championships, while Hall has recovered from the injury that ruled him out of the final three months of last season.
Hall will not be involved in Sunday’s friendly with Arsenal in Singapore, but could feature in next week’s matches in South Korea against a K-League All Stars XI and Tottenham.