Liverpool FC may be signing Hugo Ekitike, but it doesn’t appear to signal that their pursuit of Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak is over.
Alex Crook of talkSPORT reports that Isak is demanding £300k per week from Newcastle to extend his contract.
For reference, according to Capology, the highest earner at Newcastle is currently Bruno Guimaraes, earning £160k.
It could be that he genuinely wants to more than double his current salary (£160k), but it honestly feels more like a mischievous demand, knowing
that Newcastle will struggle to meet that. I wouldn’t be surprised if and when he does move, his wages will be lower than that figure. It’s not a transfer request, but essentially he’s telling Newcastle that they’re going to have to break their entire wage structure and offer other core players an eventual raise to keep him. A very passive-aggressive way of saying “haha, I don’t think so”.
It remains curious that Isak hasn’t been linked to other clubs, apart from Liverpool (Al-Hilal doesn’t really count, I'm sorry), and there’s the feeling that something could still happen. In yesterday’s Transfer Deal Sheet in The Athletic, journalist Gregg Evans, while updating on Liverpool’s pursuit of centre-backs including Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi, says that Arne Slot’s preference is to have two senior players fighting for every position. So theoratically, two strikers in Isak and Ekitike wouldn’t be a problem. And with Nunez, Diaz, and Chiesa all looking likely to depart... anything could happen.
What happens next, it looks like Liverpool will be ready to make a move for Isak, whether it’s this summer or the next.
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- Barcelona Claim They’ve Shown Liverpool “Respect” in Coutinho Chase
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