What Sky Sports just heard about Alexander Isak after Ornstein confirms Newcastle return | OneFootball

Liverpool are refusing to give up in their pursuit of Alexander Isak this summer.

That’s despite the Reds having had an opening bid of £110m rebuffed by Newcastle United already.

There has since been a further development in the transfer saga, with the Sweden international returning to train in England, as per David Ornstein.

Liverpool still want to sign Alexander Isak

(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

A first bid from Liverpool for Isak was highly unlikely to be accepted by the Magpies.

Eddie Howe’s men may publicly claim to the contrary, but the optics around this prospective deal will no doubt be borne in mind by decision-makers at St James’ Park.

Put simply, Newcastle can’t afford to let the 26-year-old leave this summer without appearing to have put up a serious fight. More to the point, not without having been seen to “force” Liverpool into raising their bid.

It’s fair to assume that the Reds will indeed look to come back to the negotiating table with a plumper sum than £110m. Certainly so, given that Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg now reports the Merseysiders aren’t giving up on the chase just yet.

Newcastle transfer saga could be reaching a conclusion

Some may feel reasonably inclined to suggest that Isak’s return to Newcastle indicates that a patching of the relationship between player and club remains possible.

However, we at Empire of the Kop strongly suspect that the opposite is the more likely scenario.

After all, Newcastle have already put their money where their mouth is with a seemingly appropriate bid for RB Leipzig hitman Benjamin Sesko.

With that context borne in mind, it seems far more likely that Alexander Isak has returned to England ahead of a potential agreement between his current club and Liverpool.

The timing is, at the very least, incredibly suspicious!

How much do Newcastle want for Alexander Isak?

The figure being bandied around the press sits at a mammoth £150m.

To be fair to Newcastle, it’s an understandably towering hurdle they’ve set for Liverpool, given Isak’s standing in the Premier League.

Regardless, we’re confident that Richard Hughes and our recruitment team will manage to negotiate this down closer to the £130m-140m range before the window’s out.

In the meantime, the successful signing of Sesko from Newcastle would surely expedite talks with Liverpool.

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