Alexander Isak ‘probably’ finished at Newcastle as seething Eddie Howe makes Liverpool sale stance clear – journalist

Liverpool have been handed a major boost in their quest to sign Alexander Isak after a trusted journalist revealed the striker has “probably played his last game for Newcastle” and with the striker’s actions over the last week forcing Eddie Howe to pursue his replacement with such “gusto”.

The Swede has made it clear he wants to leave St James’ Park this summer after becoming agitated by the club’s failure to sufficiently strengthen their squad and amid an anger at Newcastle over a failure to substantially raise his £120,000 a week wages. And with our reporter Fraser Fletcher making it clear that Isak wants the move to Liverpool next, speculation over his future has ramped up in recent days.

Indeed, the Premier League champions – despite already being in the midst of a record-breaking summer of transfer spending – have already had one offer worth an initial £110m but rising to £120m (€137.5m, $159m) with add-ons, rejected by Newcastle, who continue to insist that the Swede is not for sale.

Behind the scenes, though, there is a general feeling that Isak’s career on Tyneside is already cooked.

His actions in firstly refusing to embark on the pre-season of Asia and secondly, in deciding to take himself off to train on his own, using the facilities at his former club, Real Sociedad, last week, were met with serious anger, behind the scenes, on Tyneside.

Now back on Tyneside and due to return to their Darsley Park training complex on today (Monday), journalist Craig Hope believes he will not only face something of a dressing down from Howe, but it is also increasingly likely he has now played his final game for the club.

“Does he train when Newcastle return? He might have to have a conversation with the management and the football club before he does,” Hope explained on his YouTube channel. “I don’t think he just rocks up on Wednesday with a kit bag and joins the team and everything’s okay, ‘nothing to see here.’ There’s got to be conversations to be had.

“Another question I asked Eddie downstairs just now, ‘Have you spoken to him this weekend?’ No, he hasn’t.”

The Daily Mail journalist added: “The fact that Newcastle are pursuing Benjamin Sesko with such gusto would suggest that they do expect Alexander Isak to move on, or certainly that they’re open to that possibility.

“What does it all mean? You’d be surprised if Alexander Isak does train with his teammates this week without conversations beforehand. Does he even want to be there? Is he going to turn up? His conduct of the past week would suggest he might not; he might be on a plane back to San Sebastian. He might say he’s still injured. Who knows, so much more to come.

“Everything now points to Alexander Isak probably having played his last game for the club.”

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Fabrizio Romano explains Liverpool’s Alexander Isak bidding game

Hope concluded: “But Liverpool need to come back with that offer, if they don’t, if they can’t get in the replacements, he’ll stay.”

Meanwhile, it has since emerged that Isak has been sent home from Darsley Park after just over three hours there on Monday morning. Per Sky Sports’ Pete Graves, Isak received treatment for a thigh issue – the same one that kept him out of their tour of Asia – before being allowed to leave.

Newcastle’s players and management are not due to return until Tuesday after only returning from South Korea in the early hours of the morning.

On the subject of Liverpool’s offer, Alan Shearer insists he has no problems with Isak wanting to take his career to the next step, accepting that is simply a part of the modern-day game.

However, he did make a joke about Dan Burn in relation to Liverpool’s opening bid.

“They wouldn’t get Dan Burn for £110m, let alone Isak!” Shearer quipped, before adding: “I’m ok with the situation. I thought he might have stayed for another season and then this would have happened next summer. But it is what it is.

“If he can’t be persuaded to stay, then if someone offers Newcastle what they want then they’ve got to take that. Ultimately, you just say ‘thank you very much for the great memories, off you go’.”

On the subject of Liverpool’s next move, Romano also thinks the Reds are happy to play the transfer waiting game, despite Newcastle’s strong refusal to enter into talks over his sale.

“Liverpool today presented their first official bid after the informal discussion they had more than two weeks ago with Newcastle for Alexander Isak,” Romano stated.

“The answer from Newcastle to this proposal was no thanks. Full stop. Newcastle didn’t say, ‘this is the price’. Newcastle didn’t say, ‘let’s negotiate again next week’. Newcastle didn’t say, ‘the player is untouchable’. Newcastle said no. Offer rejected. Stop.

“So that’s the message from Newcastle and this is probably why you see now many reports on Liverpool not willing to bid again for Alexander Isak, because obviously when you see Newcastle that strong on their position for Liverpool, [it] would be pointless to go and send bids every day, every hour for Isak.

Exclusive: Alexander Isak arrives at #nufc training ground this morning. He’s the only player here. Rest of the squad only landed back from South Korea at 0840 and have been given day off by Eddie Howe. Updates on @SkySportsNews. pic.twitter.com/ConOhWutbj

— Pete Graves (@PeteGravesTV) August 4, 2025

“But internally, Liverpool know that this is part of the game. It’s still [the] beginning of August. There’s still plenty of time to go before the end of the transfer window.

“Also, Liverpool expected Newcastle to be strong on their position, especially because of one reason: the only way for the Alexander Isak deal to happen this summer is if Newcastle find a top striker on the market, top striker, and decide internally to let Isak go to Liverpool. That’s the only way.

“Liverpool wanted to show to the player, okay, we are really ready. That’s not just an informal conversation. That’s not just a verbal proposal. It’s an official bid.

“So Liverpool sent a clear message to Alexander Isak. We are here. We are ready. We have the money. We are prepared to make something important. Newcastle say no. But Alexander Isak remains clear on his position.”

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