Newcastle set to make FATAL error to hand Alexander Isak to Liverpool | OneFootball

Newcastle plot £86m mistake

If you've not heard, then Liverpool's interest in Hugo Ekitike is being matched by Chelsea as well as the Magpies. Yeah, that's right. The club with the best striker in the Premier League last season is looking at bringing in a new striker - now that Callum Wilson is gone, they want a back-up.

To you and me, paying £86m on a striker to compete with your £150m striker is nonsense, but that's how things appear to be unfolding, if The Telegraph have a correct understanding of the situation.

Luke Edwards posted an update today and it said: "Newcastle United have rekindled their interest in French forward Hugo Ekitike as they look to find a striker to play alongside Alexander Isak.

"Telegraph Sport understands that Newcastle have made the player's representatives aware of their desire to sign the France U21 international and will hope to agree a fee with the Bundesliga club.

"Ekitike has a release clause of around €100m (£86m) and Newcastle would almost certainly have to pay the full fee to get the transfer over the line. Newcastle are right to be wary. They have tried to sign Ekitike twice before, first in January 2022 and again in the summer window later that year. A deal was close to being completed on both occasions until the player decided to join Paris Saint-Germain. He failed to secure regular first-team football in Paris and signed for Frankfurt in 2024."

So there we have it. Attempts to sign the Frenchman have failed in the past, but the Magpies are genuinely intending to have another go now that he might be on the move again this summer.

For some of you reading this, the news might be a little disappointing given Ekitike is one of the main players left on our striker shortlist, but in fact, the opposite should be true. This is a potentially joyous piece of news for Liverpool fans as the impact of such a decision would be ground-breaking.

Upon moving for £86m to a new country, Ekitike is going to want to be the main striker and playing second best to Isak simply won't work. Breaking a transfer record for a back-up is nonsensical.

So we're either talking about the Frenchman looking to leave again in the next few years, because he isn't getting enough game time, or we're looking at Isak moving elsewhere for the same reasons.

Furthermore, the current intention on Tyneside is to given Isak a new contract, which is also going to be hindered by the Ekitike signing, because both players will want to top the wage earnings table.

They are statement players. One is already at Newcastle and should be paid accordingly, whereas the new arrival will no doubt be on substantially more than the £58k a week he's currently on.

So inevitably, there will be a clash. It doesn't compute in your head when you initially consider what having both in the same team would be like and that's for a good reason, they won't work together.

Of course, a lot has to happen before we can start realistically considering a move for Isak, and Newcastle letting Frankfurt know about their interest is a very preliminary step before anything serious happens, but it's a mistake and a far more promising striker solution for Liverpool may arise.