Transfer insider: Isak a no-show at Newcastle base as lust for Liverpool becomes even clearer | OneFootball

The future of Alexander Isak continues to be a hot talking point amid intensifying links with a move to Liverpool.

On Monday, Sky reporter Sacha Tavolieri claimed that the Reds are preparing to submit an opening offer of £100m for the Newcastle striker, who’s valued at £150m by his club but is very keen on joining Arne Slot’s side.

Lewis Steele subsequently said that the 25-year-old is ‘desperate’ for a move to Merseyside, and the Sweden international was conspicuous by his absence from the Magpies’ promotional video revealing their new away kit, which dropped on social media today.

Further doubt has now been case over Isak’s future on Tyneside, following reports which emerged this afternoon.

Isak reportedly goes AWOL at Newcastle

According to Graeme Bailey for TBR Football, the striker – who hasn’t travelled with Eddie Howe’s squad on their pre-season tour to Asia due to a minor thigh problem – failed to report at Newcastle’s training ground and is instead working on his own fitness programme at home.

The 25-year-old is considered to have gone AWOL and is beginning to ‘force the issue’ as he seemingly pushes for an exit from St James’ Park.

The transfer insider claimed that Liverpool are prepared to offer £120m for the Swede and believe that the Magpies would accept such an amount, with Reds sporting director Richard Hughes enjoying a good working relationship with Howe from their mutual time at Bournemouth.

(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Newcastle exit seems increasingly likely for Isak as Liverpool lie in wait

If indeed Isak has effectively done a disappearing act on Tyneside, it’s increasingly hard to see him staying put at Newcastle, and it now feels as though he’s starting to turn the screw on possibly engineering a transfer to Anfield.

His omission from the Magpies’ away kit release video may have been coincidental, but given the current context, it has inevitably been interpreted as a telltale sign that he could be on the move imminently.

Howe’s side have maintained a public stance of ‘not for sale’, but these apparent recent events might yet prompt a change in that thinking if they feel privately that they’d be fighting an increasingly uphill battle to keep hold of the striker.

That, of course, could all play into Liverpool’s hands and may even help them to get a deal done for less than what they might have originally envisaged. The prior relationship between Hughes and the Newcastle manager could also be an advantageous factor for the Reds.

This saga still has plenty of mileage to travel – the Merseysiders haven’t even made a formal offer as of yet – but the tide appears to be inching further towards LFC getting their man and making yet another powerful statement of intent in the summer transfer window.