Alexander Isak: Newcastle to Take ‘Record-Breaking’ Action, ‘Concerned’ by Transfer Interest | OneFootball

Newcastle United are reportedly willing to shatter their existing wage structure and make Alexander Isak the best-paid player in club history to ward off the jostling queue of interested suitors.

A second consecutive season of plundering more than 20 Premier League goals has elevated Isak to rarified heights. The rubbery 25-year-old is one of the most sought-after strikers on the planet, attracting admiring glances from Arsenal, Barcelona and Liverpool in particular.

Yet, Newcastle have made it abundantly clear that there is no intention to part ways with the prolific forward. If anything the Magpies are on the hunt for a strike partner, rather than a replacement.

In their latest attempt to persuade Isak to remain on Tyneside, Newcastle are prepared to offer their talisman a record-breaking pay bump, The Times claim. Isak is thought to earn somewhere in the region of £120,000 ($163,000) per week and could be handed a new contract which stretches beyond the squad’s current high watermark of £150,000 ($204,000).

Alexander Isak is a target for Arsenal, Barcelona and Liverpool. / IMAGO/isionhaus

Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimarães and Anthony Gordon are thought to be the three leading earners who would be surpassed if an agreement can be struck.

However, the picture is not so straightforward. Isak’s agent reportedly paused negotiations over a new deal last summer and discussions have not yet been reopened. There has been no suggestion that Isak is pushing for an exit—Newcastle are fresh from their best season in decades as they achieved Champions League qualification and ended a 56-year trophy drought—but The Times claim that Eddie Howe’s side are “concerned” by Liverpool’s interest.

The reigning Premier League champions have been breaking their own records with their transfer activity this summer, splashing £116 million on ($157.9 million) on the arrival of Florian Wirtz alone.

The German attacking midfielder is expected to be the third highest-paid player at the Reds, slotting in the wage bracket below Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, on a salary which still eclipses anything Newcastle would be able to offer Isak. The Magpies have to walk a thinner tightrope than Liverpool when it comes to the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations given their far inferior revenue.

There have been suggestions that Liverpool are not hell-bent on signing a new striker this summer—even if they manage to offload Darwin Núñez. Yet, the club’s aggressive approach to the opening weeks of the window ensures that nothing can be ruled out, and justifies Newcastle’s concerns.