In a deadline day miracle, reports are coming out of England past midnight in the early hours of Monday morning are that Liverpool and Newcastle have reached full agreement for the transfer of striker Alexander Isak.
David Ornstein of The Athletic broke the news of a fixed-fee £125M deal not even an hour after it was first reported that negotiations were ramping up again with the transfer window on the verge of closing and both clubs ready to put this whole long running/embarrassing saga behind them.
The reported deal could be worth up to £130m to Newcastle, perhaps due to a transfer request and the forgoing of loyalty payments, as multiple confirmatory reports have reiterated that he will cost the Reds £125M with Isak set to complete his medical on Monday before reporting to international duty with the Swedish national team. Ben Jacobs and Paul Joyce have since corroborated the story, including news that personal terms with Isak will involve a six-year contract.
The whole messy saga has been well documented, with Liverpool’s initial bid of £110 million rejected early on, but it was Isak’s assertion of needing to leave and the relationship with the club going toxic quickly that has probably spurred everything along. Isak has publicly stated his desire to leave multiple times, and Newcastle have been unable to lock down a replacement until recently with the signing of Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart.
Isak has not trained or played with his Newcastle squadmates since the summer, after missing their preseason friendlies and training with his former club Real Sociedad since July. It hasn’t exactly been a good look for either the player or the club to be in this position, but once Isak is announced as a Liverpool player we can hopefully put the whole ugly business behind us.