Liverpool see Newcastle’s superstar striker as the dream target and are currently working hard at not letting their dreams be dreams.
Liverpool are pushing hard to sign Newcastle and Sweden superstar Aelxander Isak, seeing the 25-year-old as one of Europe’s top five strikers and the dream attacking signing to give to manager Arne Slot as he prepares for a Premier League title defence in 2025-26.
Understandably, for a Newcastle side that qualified for the Champions League last season and sees Isak as the cornerstone of their efforts to establish themselves amongst the elite, the idea of losing him isn’t a pleasant one—and losing him seems likelier than not with every passing day.
“He’s still our player,” Howe began when asked about the Isak situation. “He’s contracted to us. We, to a degree, control what is next for him. I would love to believe that all possibilities are still available to us and my wish is that he stays, but that’s not in my full control.”
Howe added the club haven’t yet received a formal offer for the player, but that isn’t exactly news and everyone including the Newcastle manager seem to have accepted that there will be an English record bid in excess of £120M made by Liverpool at some point in the near future.
Newcastle will try to avoid the inevitable. To try to quickly rebuild bridges with Isak and seek a solution that involves him staying on Tyneside. At the very least they will seek to delay that inevitable while they scramble to source a replacement like RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Šeško.
The qualifiers in Howe’s statement, though, feel massively telling. Newcastle control Isak’s future, but only to a degree. Howe would love the player to stay, but his future isn’t in his full control. And all the while there is Liverpool, unmentioned by Howe but looming. Waiting. Ready.