Liverpool Finally Land Alexander Isak in Record-Breaking £125M Deal

Liverpool have finally ended one of the summer's longest transfer sagas by landing Alexander Isak from Newcastle United in a British record £125 million deal. The Swedish striker will undergo a medical before signing a six-year contract. Liverpool has seen a £110m bid rejected in early August, with Newcastle insisting they would not sell for less than £150m. But with Isak refusing to play in the opening weeks of the Premier League season and the Magpies moving to bring in Stuttgart's Nick Woltemade for £69m, their stance began to soften. Liverpool also made it clear during negotiations that if Newcastle refused to deal, they would turn their focus to Hugo Ekitike – the Magpies’ top striker target. In the end, Liverpool not only landed Isak but also Ekitike, leaving the saga with both players Newcastle had been desperate to hold or sign.

For Newcastle, this ends a tense stand-off with a player who had grown increasingly unsettled. Eddie Howe initially defended the Swede, even pulling him from a pre-season friendly against Celtic on July 19 “due to the speculation around him.” Days later, Isak was excluded from Newcastle's pre-season tour of Asia with what the club described as a “minor thigh injury.” Behind the scenes, however, Isak had already told Newcastle he wanted to explore a move. By late July, he was spotted training alone back at former club Real Sociedad’s facilities. Liverpool's opening bid of £110m was swiftly rejected. Isak trained away from the main group for weeks, missed the opening three league fixtures, and even released a public statement on August 19 accusing Newcastle of “broken promises.” That same evening, Newcastle issued a firm denial but insisted the striker would be welcomed back when “ready to rejoin his team-mates.” A week later, they secured Woltemade and, with their replacement in place, negotiations with Liverpool reopened. On deadline day, the breakthrough finally came. For Liverpool, the deal makes Isak their second blockbuster signing of the summer, following the £100m with £14m in add ons deal for Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen another club-record transfer at the time.

Their total outlay now stands at a staggering £416.2m, the highest single-window spend in Premier League history. Alongside Isak and Wirtz, Arne Slot's side have brought in Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Armin Pecsi and Giovanni Leoni. And they may yet add Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi before the window closes.

Some of that spending has been offset by major departures, with Luis Díaz, Darwin Núñez, Jarell Quansah, Caoimhin Kelleher, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Tyler Morton and Ben Doak leaving Anfield this summer. Together, those sales have generated around £190m. For Newcastle, the chapter closes on an uneasy saga that threatened to overshadow their start to the season. With Woltemade now leading the line, Eddie Howe can move forward without the constant speculation hanging over his squad.

And for Liverpool, with their record-breaking summer of recruitment nearing completion, the focus now shifts back to the pitch and the defence of their Premier League crown.