Alexander Isak has told Newcastle United he wishes to leave this summer, sparking a whirlwind of transfer speculation.
As one of the world’s pre-eminent strikers, the Sweden international will not be lacking in admirers — but what could be the most plausible move?
Our experts assess the 25-year-old’s options, including whether he may stay at Newcastle…
Liverpool
Liverpool’s interest in Isak is real and long-standing.
The Premier League champions previously communicated a willingness to do a deal in the region of £120million ($162m). As Newcastle were adamant he was not for sale, no formal bid was ever submitted and a move for Hugo Ekitike was completed instead.
Whether Liverpool now see Isak’s desire to leave St James’ Park as an opportunity to reignite that move remains to be seen.
He is regarded within Anfield as a surefire option, with a proven track record in the Premier League. Yet up to £79m has been invested in Ekitike, a long-term target who, at 23, is regarded as a forward of vast potential.
Hugo Ekitike has signed for Liverpool for a possible £79m (Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Liverpool, who have spent nearly £300m already this summer, have failed to ship out Darwin Nunez, while also rejecting approaches from Bayern Munich and Barcelona for Luis Diaz, leaving their forward line heavily stacked.
Perhaps a move for Isak could open up if the situation around Nunez and Diaz changes. Adding Isak to a summer rebuild alongside Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong would be quite the statement of intent.
Gregg Evans
Al Hilal
If any club has the funds to pull off this deal, it is Al Hilal. Not only are they one of the four clubs owned by Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund (PIF), but they also benefit from the support of billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who can help underwrite exceptional deals such as this one.
Although the PIF is seeking to operate a financially sustainable project, the opportunity to acquire one of the world’s best strikers would be a huge coup as it attempts to establish the Saudi Pro League as a globally renowned power.
Having failed in attempts to sign Bruno Fernandes and Victor Osimhen before the Club World Cup, Isak would represent a marquee signing that only Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Al Nassr and Karim Benzema’s switch to Al Ittihad could rival — and they both arrived well into their thirties.
Isak moving to Saudi Arabia would widely be viewed as a step down in a footballing sense but Al Hilal would rail against that, perhaps pointing to their performances in the Club World Cup as a sign that he could spearhead an exciting project.
Al Hilal and PIF could certainly offer the finances to match that ambition — is that enough for a 25-year-old who is one of the best around and could still earn vast sums elsewhere in Europe?
Even if affordability is not an issue, there is the optics of a PIF-owned club buying the star player from Newcastle, another PIF-owned club.
It would be the first deal of its kind within the group and would surely have negative ramifications for how Newcastle’s supporters view the owners, whose popularity was buoyed when the club ended its 56-year trophy drought last season.
Jordan Campbell
Chelsea
Chelsea have no desire to pursue a move for Isak.
There was strong interest in the past but Newcastle’s valuation of the forward meant a transfer never got close. Chelsea have already strengthened their attack this summer and are very happy with the business that they have done. They feel they have the right balance and depth.
Striker Liam Delap was signed from Ipswich Town for £30m and versatile attacker Joao Pedro, who has already led the line for Chelsea at the Club World Cup, was bought from Brighton & Hove Albion for more than £50m. Winger Jamie Gittens has joined from Borussia Dortmund, too.
They are considering adding another attacking player, depending on departures, but that focus is on more affordable, younger attacking talents, such as Xavi Simons, Morgan Rogers and Alejandro Garnacho.
Alejandro Garnacho is one of Chelsea’s targets this transfer window (Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images)
The cost to sign Isak is surely an issue too — the player’s potential wage demands would make him one of, if not the highest, earner at Stamford Bridge.
Simon Johnson
Paris Saint-Germain
If there’s a European team who could afford to go and get Isak, it is probably last season’s Champions League winners.
They earned another €17million (£15m; $20m) this week as part of a sell-on clause when Liverpool signed Ekitike and their coffers have been swelled by at least £200m through winning the Champions League and finishing as runners-up in the Club World Cup. They have history for big-money buys too, smashing the transfer world record to sign Neymar from Barcelona for €222m in 2017.
These days, however, PSG are a little more reserved and head coach Luis Enrique has developed a finely tuned system that does not necessarily use a conventional No 9.
At the start of this window, Isak was not among PSG’s priorities, but it remains to be seen whether that may change now he is publicly agitating for a move.
Randal Kolo Muani and Goncalo Ramos could move on, creating space for a striker, but whether PSG are prepared to commit so much money on one centre-forward is another matter.
Real Madrid’s Rodrygo has been linked but he is not in PSG’s transfer plans. The next player to arrive at the Parc des Princes is most likely to be Bournemouth centre-back Illia Zabarnyi.
Adam Crafton
Arsenal
You have to go back to January 2022 for when Isak, then at Real Sociedad, was first under strong consideration from Mikel Arteta and Arsenal. The club did plenty of work to scope out a deal for the then-22-year-old, and hoped to secure him for less than his £75m release clause.
Isak during his Real Sociedad days in 2022 (Rafa Babot/Getty Images)
Even though Isak joined Newcastle that summer, Arteta’s admiration for the striker didn’t wane and he was above Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko on the Arsenal manager’s list of targets heading into this window.
Getting him out of Newcastle was perceived as incredibly difficult and expensive, especially as he still has three years remaining on his contract, so Arsenal looked elsewhere, specifically Gyokeres, who is set to sign for an initial €63.5million from Sporting CP.
The other factor worth noting is that even before Gyokeres’ arrival, Arsenal had already spent north of £100m this summer and still want another wide player, so it doesn’t seem financially plausible that they would target Isak in addition to Gyokeres and further signings.
Dan Sheldon
Manchester United
A new striker was the prime order of business for Manchester United this summer — instead, they have spent more than £130m on two forwards who play off a front man. Club executives are still surveying the market for centre-forwards and Ollie Watkins and Nicolas Jackson have been discussed recently — but Isak had not featured on their shortlist.
He is one of the world’s best in his position but Newcastle’s hardline stance meant United looked elsewhere. Even now, the enormous cost of signing Isak makes pursuing him implausible. Besides, would he really trade another go in the Champions League for a team who finished 15th in the Premier League last season?
Even if he could be persuaded, the financials would require huge finessing, given United’a primary objective at this stage is sales. Garnacho is a valuable player to trade but Newcastle are well stocked in wide areas.
Laurie Whitwell
Manchester City
Perhaps had Erling Haaland not signed up for the next decade and Omar Marmoush not joined the party in January, City may have made room for such a special player.
But with those two striker options, it is impossible to see how they could accommodate Isak. Haaland has to play centrally and yes, Isak could theoretically play off the left wing, but would he want to play there?
Pep Guardiola is also looking to trim his squad, having added eight players since January. It is a non-starter.
Jordan Campbell
Bayern Munich
No doubt Isak has the stature to interest Bayern, but this deal is almost inconceivable.
The fee being demanded would be prohibitive and he would have to accept playing as a left-sided forward again, rather than in the central role Harry Kane occupies.
Bayern were willing to spend at such a level on Florian Wirtz because he was only 22, he was German, and he was nowhere near realising his potential. Their sights seem to be set on Liverpool’s Diaz and Stuttgart’s Nick Woltemade.
Seb Stafford-Bloor
Real Madrid
When Isak was making a name for himself at Real Sociedad three years ago, Real Madrid did consider signing him.
But this was before the arrivals of Kylian Mbappe and Endrick, and Madrid did not push for the Sweden striker as they were not convinced that the potential fees represented good value. Isak ended up moving to Newcastle for £63m in August 2022.
Kylian Mbappe’s presence at Real Madrid leaves little room for Isak (Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
It is even less likely this summer, with Madrid believing that they have a surplus of options in attack. A forward is more likely to leave than join.
If there was space in the squad, it would not be easy to sign a striker like Isak at this stage in his career due to the cost involved. And anyway, Madrid have far more urgent positions to strengthen, namely defence and midfield.
It would not be surprising if Isak liked the idea of returning to La Liga, where he excelled earlier in his career, but a move to Madrid is almost unthinkable right now.
Guillermo Rai
Milan
If the starting point for Isak is £120m, then forget about it. The fee would be an Italian record at a time when no Italian team is in a position to pay anywhere near it.
Nobody.
As a mental exercise, though, Milan could use a centre-forward. Alvaro Morata looks on his way to Como and Santiago Gimenez hasn’t convinced since his move from Feyenoord in the winter.
James Horncastle
Juventus
The first new signing of the summer at Juventus was a striker. Jonathan David joined from Lille on a free transfer and unsuccessful attempts have been made to make Kolo Muani’s loan from PSG permanent.
Canada striker Jonathan David completed a move to Juventus in July (Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)
Dusan Vlahovic is entering the final year of his contract and seems inclined to run it down. The inability to raise a fee for the Serbia international and get Serie A’s highest-paid player off the wage bill is a stumbling block.
James Horncastle
Inter
The club’s owner, Oaktree, wants the team to get younger this window. As such, the average age of Inter’s signings up until now has been in the low twenties. One of them, Ange-Yoan Bonny from Parma, is a striker and will develop behind Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram.
Inter’s focus for the moment is on persuading Atalanta to part with African Player of the Year, Ademola Lookman.
James Horncastle
Napoli
Antonio Conte is renowned for pushing his owners to go the distance for a striker. That was the case with Romelu Lukaku at Inter.
Aurelio De Laurentiis, the Napoli president, has gone big in the past, too, breaking the club record to buy Osimhen for €70million in 2020 — but Isak would cost double that and Napoli have already signed Lorenzo Lucca from Udinese this summer.
James Horncastle
Barcelona
Sporting director Deco would love to have the chance to sign Isak. Unfortunately for Barca, they can’t.
Deco admired Isak for a long time, seeing him as a standout candidate to be Barcelona’s next No 9, a role they will need to tackle next summer when Robert Lewandowski gets to the end of his contract.
Isak also has a proven record in La Liga after his successful spell at Real Sociedad but Barca are not in a position to be anywhere near the figures this deal would involve.
They had to pull out of their quest to sign Diaz this summer because they could not meet Liverpool’s demands and the figures in a deal for Isak would be way above what was discussed for the Colombian.
Besides being outpriced, Barcelona are also struggling with their salary limit in La Liga and are set for another race against time to register their latest signings, Joan Garcia and Marcus Rashford, before the start of the season.
Pol Ballus
Marcus Rashford has joined Barcelona on loan (David Ramos/Getty Images)
Tottenham Hotspur
Is it really so ridiculous to imagine? That Tottenham Hotspur might not just smash their transfer record, but more than double it, to shock the world?
Yes. Yes, it is. There is a greater chance of Daniel Levy announcing a rebrand of the home kit to red shirts with white sleeves than there is of Spurs signing Isak.
Tottenham already have a very good No 9 who is proven in the Premier League in Dominic Solanke. They paid an initial £55m for him last summer — with another £10m in potential add-ons — and his all-round game has been impressive.
Isak may well cost double or even close to three times Solanke’s fee to get out of Newcastle. There is a lot more that Spurs could do with that much money. And that is before we even get to the thorny question of how exactly Isak — one of the most in-demand strikers in the world — would fit into Spurs’ wage structure.
Jack Pitt-Brooke
Newcastle United
Even if Isak stays, there will be at least some sort of negative fallout.
There always is when any player communicates a desire to move elsewhere, especially one who is arguably the world’s best striker and one adored by Newcastle supporters.
A period of reintegration will be required. Isak is yet to play a pre-season friendly and, unless he belatedly joins the tour, will not get the opportunity to do so until the weekend before the start of the Premier League campaign.
But Newcastle’s need for a striker was already acute. William Osula is currently leading the line and Sean Neave, the 18-year-old academy graduate who is yet to make his competitive debut, is the only other out-and-out centre-forward available to Howe.
Having even a dissatisfied Isak in the starting XI next season would improve the present incarnation of a striker-less Newcastle. Isak scored a third (23) of Newcastle’s 68 Premier League goals last season. Only Nottingham Forest’s reliance on Chris Wood really compared.
Newcastle relied on Isak’s goals last season (Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)
With a backup forward proving tricky to acquire — Brentford’s valuation of 28-year-old Yoane Wissa is far higher than Newcastle’s and Ekitike has joined Liverpool — Eddie Howe would be better off with a distracted Isak than no striker at all.
Contract talks had been intended and Newcastle would look to handsomely remunerate the forward, though whether they can match his market value due to constraints on profit and sustainability rules (PSR) is another matter. Howe has also intimated that handing Isak a higher pay packet may mean the wage budget needs trimming elsewhere, and he would also likely demand a release clause, or perhaps the promise of an exit should an elite club make an offer.
Regardless, this situation is likely to alter how many Newcastle fans feel about Isak.
Chris Waugh
(Top photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
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