Newcastle get Alexander Isak to Liverpool reality check after striker approach | OneFootball

Whenever you make a bold call about one of your players in the transfer market, you should have enough self-awareness to consider how your competitors might try to twist your arm later on.

If you talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. Newcastle United have been exceptionally willing to do the first part, but delivering the goods is something they've struggled with over the last three months.

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The disaster that has been this transfer window for them first involved Liverpool when reports said that Hugo Ekitike was a target to play alongside Alexander Isak in a front-two, which never happened.

Liverpool made it clear that both the Frenchman and Isak were targets for a move to Anfield and we would take whichever Newcastle preferred. Their decision to keep Isak has led to their downfall.

They made their bed and now they have to sleep in it. From where I'm looking at it, they've got an uncomfortable season ahead of them now that other teams have caught on to their strategy.

© IMAGO - Alexander Isak Liverpool

Isak to Liverpool is in SERIOUS doubt

Upon a request to investigate the conditions of a possible move for Isak, the Reds were told that £150m was the valuation that would need to be met. It was a ludicrous figure plucked out of nowhere.

The current British transfer record sits at £115m from when Chelsea bought Moises Caicedo from Brighton - beating that figure by £35m just isn't going to happen. It's nonsensical if we're honest.

Of course, clubs can make their own valuations. Perhaps it's worth considering whether £150m isn't what Isak is actually worth, but what he's worth to Newcastle - the cost of losing a prolific striker.

After all, that's exactly what happened with Jack Grealish at Aston Villa before he joined Manchester City for £100m. The transfer fee represented compensation for the Villians losing their best player.

Liverpool have attempted to be realistic through this negotiation for Isak, offering £110m plus add-ons as an opening bid, not expecting it to be agreed, but for it to be a starting point to work off.

But the constant claims from Magpies' fans has been that Liverpool are simply £40m short, which is why no one is taking our interest seriously. Just a reminder, there is no way on earth that a financial offering of over £100m can ever be considered a joke. It was a genuinely serious approach for him.

It's their stubbornness that has led to the situation developing how it has. Isak will have noticed that if he's considered a '£150m player' then he should be paid as such, earning close to £300k a week.

But there has been no willingness from Newcastle to consider paying him his worth, so he's let all hell break loose - not turning up to pre-season, training on his own and now going on strike.

The £100m+ figure that Liverpool could have agreed with Newcastle for Isak would have benefitted them greatly, adding a significant sum of money to their transfer budget and giving them a break from the constrains of the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

John Henry (FSG) has a cheque waiting to be cashed for the Swede, but he's going nowhere because Newcastle can't afford his successors, in part, because of their initial attitude to Isak.

Brentford's Yoane Wissa, 28, has been on Eddie Howe's list all summer, although his arrival would represent a replacement for Callum Wilson rather than someone to replace Isak. Nonetheless, a fee for the Congo international, with one year left on his deal, looked to be around £25m.

However, reports of a £50m valuation, which could rise to £60m, are now coming out, which represents a problem for Newcastle. Craig Hope reports that 'Newcastle won't deal at those numbers, [the] PIF simply would not allow it, but are hopeful of reaching an agreement when talks resume today'.

Why has the fee skyrocketed for Wissa? Well, because the player is in demand and since 'gentlemen's agreements' and 'promises' are not enforceable contracts, any fee can be charged.

Newcastle will be hoping to get the player for substantially less than the new figures that are coming out, but they'll still expect Liverpool to put up £150m for Isak, with no compromises whatsoever.

In reality, no clubs ever get their asking prices. If they do, then a sensational piece of business has been conducted, but it's rare. Both sides have a negotiation to agree on a fair deal for all parties.

Florian Wirtz's move from Leverkusen to Liverpool this summer is a perfect example. £126m was initially charged and the Reds left the talks with a £100m plus £16m in add-ons agreement, £10m off.

If Newcastle refuse to budge with Liverpool, then they will have a £100m rotting on the bench, since he's decided he will never play for the Magpies ever again. Keeping him might feel like a power-play, but it's not. You're just punishing yourselves. And if Wissa doesn't join, or if his arrival costs more than fans initially thought, then there's a clear reason for that. Newcastle inspired Brentford's stance.

Going into the full season without Isak is a disaster for Liverpool, but it's clear that there's never been any intention from Newcastle to let him go. The player has attempted to make the decision untenable and eventually you feel something will have to give. Newcastle need a new striker, their performance against Aston Villa on Saturday made that clear. Not letting Isak go will backfire for them eventually.