Revealed: The THREE real reasons Isak wants to leave Newcastle as Liverpool edge towards record deal

Alexander Isak’s ambitions of leaving Newcastle can be traced back as far as last summer, a new report has revealed, with three factors now cited as reasons behind the Liverpool target’s unhappiness, while fresh comments from Eddie Howe on the striker’s contract talks at St James’ Park have also come to light.

The Swede finds himself fast becoming the story of an already incredible summer transfer window that has already seen Liverpool both shatter the British transfer record once and now threatening to do it again for Isak. And with the Swede having stayed at home while his Newcastle teammates are put through their paces on their pre-season tour of Singapore, speculation over his future is starting to reach fever pitch.

Reports of Liverpool‘s interest in Isak have been bubbling along for most of the summer, but appeared to have ground to a halt when the Reds instead secured the signing of Hugo Ekitike instead.

But rather than simply settling for the addition of the Frenchman, our reporter, Fraser Fletcher, exclusively broke the news first on Thursday morning that Liverpool could sign both, with Isak now making clear his wish to leave St James’ Park,

Indeed, we understand that Isak’s frustration appears to stem from his anger at the club’s failure to land their major transfer targets this summer.

And while Howe’s side have secured the signing of his compatriot Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest, the fact they have missed out on Ekitike, Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Bryan Mbeumo and seemingly James Trafford too, have not gone down well with Isak, who now fears Newcastle will face a battle to secure a top-four spot again in the upcoming season.

However, the lack of signings have only served to bring matters in Isak’s mind to a head, with a report in the Daily Mail tracing the striker’s unhappiness and desire to leave as far back as last summer.

In their report, journalist Craig Hope explains how a broken promise from the club’s former sporting director, Paul Mitchell, over a new contract first caused dismay in the Isak camp.

Secondly, the fact that Isak ‘does not want to simply play in the Champions League, he wants to win it‘ – a prospect he feels he could never do at Newcastle – has added to that feeling that the time is now right to seek a move elsewhere.

And his frustrations over this summer’s business – or more, pertinently, the lack of it – have only reinforced that desire.

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Isak exit wish stems from lack of a new Newcastle contract

Explaining things in more detail, the Mail explains that Isak has been considering an exit since last summer, when a new contract was not forthcoming.

It’s claimed former co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi had ‘reassured Isak and his camp in March of last year that improved terms were on the way’.

However, when the pair left the club and Mitchell was appointed as sporting director, that promise was reneged on. In Mitchell’s mind, while assessing Newcastle’s Profit and Sustainability issues at the time, coupled with the fact he saw Isak still having four years left to run on his current deal at the time, Mitchell deemed it not the right time to negotiate fresh terms.

However, that decision left Isak  ‘furious’ and it’s claimed Howe talking of an ‘unsettled dressing room’ in the summer was in significant part due to the striker’s reaction to the news.

His ‘body language was a concern for staff’ at the start of last season when he scored just one goal in seven matches, leading Howe to publicly rebuke his squad as a whole in October.

“We need to make sure we’re delivering our part as a football club for them,” Howe said at the time. “But also the player has to perform to that level. If he’s saying he has huge ambitions, he has to be actually doing the business on the pitch – it’s a two-way thing, the challenge is always thrown back. As a player you can sit down and say I want to play European football, but you then have to play to that level as well.”

Isak – who currently earns £120,000 per week – ‘believed he was being paid way below market value’ and ‘he, like others, wanted to see the club and its Saudi owners show more ambition, not just talk about it in Amazon documentaries’ and for the club to show ‘tangible signs of intent and progression’.

It has since been claimed that Isak wants to become one of the top 10 best-paid players in the Premier League, on a deal worth £300,000 a week.

Meanwhile, Howe has spoken to the media from Singapore to provide an update on the situation.

And while the manager is desperately hoping the club can iron out their differences with Isak, he has also admitted they are not currently in talks over that aforementioned new deal.

“Of course, there’s things going on behind the scenes,” Howe was quoted as saying.

“He will be aware he’s in the news every day, and I’m sure that’s not easy for anyone in that situation.

“Conversations that happen between Alex and the club or Alex and myself will stay private for obvious reasons. We do share a really good relationship with him.

“He’s been magnificent for us since he’s joined. He’s very popular in the dressing room and we’d love him to continue his journey at Newcastle.”

Howe added: “As far as I’m aware, I don’t think there are any contract talks taking place at the moment. That’ll be for a later date potentially.

“I think for now, with the situation as it is and the state of the window, in the sense that it’s hurtling towards the end of the window very quickly from our perspective, there’s still so much that could happen.”

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How Alexander Isak’s wages compare to his Newcastle teammates