Make no mistake: Liverpool have EMBARRASSED Newcastle in Hugo Ekitike talks | OneFootball

Liverpool embarrass Newcastle

Just three days ago on Monday, it was reported by David Ornstein of The Athletic that Newcastle were looking to sign Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt, with the intention of him playing alongside Isak.

Given this move was going to be extremely expensive for a player who would essentially be a back-up striker, doubts were expressed about the deal. Furthermore, an offer of €75m (£65m) was being looked at when the asking price was very clearly expressed to be €100m (£86m). A bold strategy.

Then on Tuesday we got the news that Isak was approached by Liverpool and the ultimatum was delivered. Since Ekitike is a long-term target of Newcastle's this was a serious power move to make.

A deal in the region of £120m was communicated to the Magpies, which would be a Premier League record fee, and the Reds' intent was laid out for all to see. Can you really reject such a high offer?

Well, just in case, Liverpool made an official approach to Frankfurt regarding Ekitike's availability and just hours ago this morning, it was announced by Fabrizio Romano that Newcastle had left talks for the Frenchman, leaving Richard Hughes and Liverpool's recruiment team to have a free run at him.

The assumption is that Newcastle responded to Liverpool's interest in Isak with the same 'not for sale' stance they have held all summer long, and in return, we can steal their No.1 transfer target.

In case you're unsure about that last part, David Ornstein published a new report this morning that Newcastle's interest is turning to Yohan Wissa at Brentford now they've cooled their interest in Ekitike.

So what does this all mean? Well, here's my view on things. Isak was always going to be a long-shot for Liverpool and so approaching Ekitike made sense. He's younger and he has a lower asking price, although of course it's still particularly high for a No. 9 without a track-record as a proven goalscorer.

But if we considered Isak out of reach, then Liverpool's interest in the Frenchman is pretty innocuous.

As such, all Newcastle had to gain was signing Ekitike. They held all the cards with Isak, because as we have seen, they were willing to reject a record-fee for him. He's seemingly priceless in their view.

So with Liverpool progressing with him and Newcastle leaving the talks, it's clear who won that battle.

Claims that 'the price has been driven up by Newcastle for Ekitike' are nonsense if we're honest, because the £65m bid was never going to be taken seriously. Frankfurt expected a far higher fee.

Liverpool spending close to £70m-80m on him is merely a more realistic and respectful approach.

And then we have to consider the situation that Newcastle have left themselves in, keeping Isak for this season at least and looking at bringing in Wissa - a 28-year-old striker with a £50m asking price.

Of course, the Congo international had a brilliant campaign last season at Brentford playing next to Brian Mbuemo, but the fee required to sign him is high and he has just 12 months left on his deal.

In addition, the situation with Mbuemo puts this approach at risk, because Manchester United are a few months into negotiations for the Cameroon forward and Brentford will not want to sell them both.

As such, it's a race against time and David Ornstein has recently reported an improved bid of £65m plus £5m add-ons coming in for Mbeumo, which will hurt Newcastle fans because they've not even had a chance to make an opening bid for Wissa yet, so any intended deal might well collapse.

Furthermore, even if they could sign Wissa, he would be absent for most of the winter because Congo are competing in the African Cup of Nations tournament this year, limiting his availability.

So there we have it. Liverpool are now in direct communication with Frankfurt to sign Ekitike and bids will be exchanged in due course, with the Frenchman having already agreed personal terms, while Newcastle are sent back into the chaos of the transfer market, re-evaluating the options available.

One of which is said to be the Reds' own Darwin Nunez, if BILD's German sources are to be believed.

Also, if Isak doesn't receive a new contract that reflects his value to the club, then he could still be on the move in the years to come and Liverpool will be scouring once again. So in reality, there isn't a debate to be had about which team has come out on top. The Reds have embarrassed Newcastle.