The stunning £150m transfer spree Newcastle United could launch with Isak cash - including Crystal Palace gem

Newcastle United are having just about as bad of a summer as it’s possible for a team that’s just won a major trophy and made it back to the Champions League to have. After two months in which they have struggled to sign any of the players they want, the arrival of Anthony Elanga notwithstanding, they now face the prospect of losing star striker Alexander Isak. This was not how Eddie Howe drew it up.

Isak has been left out of Newcastle’s squad for a pre-season tour of Asia and it didn’t take long for the club’s claim that he had a “minor thigh injury” to be exposed as a face-saving lie – Isak wants to leave, and Liverpool wait in the wings…

The £70m replacement that could help Newcastle move on from Alexander Isak

Newcastle, for their part, had supposedly put a notional £150m valuation on Isak’s head back when it looked as though there was no realistic chance that he would leave – but Liverpool have already shown a willingness to open their wallets extraordinarily wide, and there are suggestions that Saudi Pro League sides are circling too. Money is no object to them.

If Newcastle were to sell, then at least they would earn enough money to go out and buy a replacement immediately – all while having the funds to strengthen several areas of the team at the same time. Howe and the club’s upper hierarchy have often grumbled about the restrictions imposed on their spending by the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules. £150m would render that a non-issue.

It would also leave them in urgent need of a first-rate striker, but at least they would have the cash, along with enough spare change to buy a midfielder, a centre-half and a goalkeeper. All are positions of need, and Newcastle have struggled to sign appropriate players.

There are already rumours swirling that suggest Newcastle would target Benjamin Šeško should Isak leave. The Slovenian striker is among the most talented younger forwards in the world and is both a fine finisher and a powerful aerial presence. He doesn’t score quite as often as Isak – the equivalent of a goal every other game compared to three every four for Isak – but for the reported asking price of £70m, he would be a fine replacement.

There is a good chance that Newcastle would actually succeed in a bid for Šeško, too. Although linked with virtually every top Premier League team at the start of the summer, both Arsenal and Chelsea have found their solutions up front, Liverpool would be out of the equation entirely if they had Isak on their books, and while Manchester United could be a rival, they have made enquiries about the availability of Ollie Watkins and appear focused on other targets.

Crucially, while Šeško needs to be that little more lethal in front of goal to fully replace a striker like Isak, he’s got plenty of time to develop and polish off those last few rough edges, and he has many of the same physical and technical qualities that make Isak so dangerous.

At just 22, his best years lie ahead of him and he may be both a fine forward and a fine investment. The Newcastle fans wouldn’t forget Isak immediately, but perhaps a striker like Šeško would help them to get over it all eventually…

The former Chelsea star and the Portugal international they could sign as well

Splash out £70m on Šeško, of course, and Newcastle may well still have £80m left to play with on top of whatever remaining transfer funds they had to spend in the first place. That could plug quite a few holes in the squad. There has already been chatter than Atlético Madrid could allow Conor Gallagher to return to England this summer, and Newcastle are said to be interested, with an approximate price point of £40-45m floating around various media sources.

Gallagher has had a respectable first season in Spain but has been more of a rotational player than a nailed-on starter under Diego Simeone – but his all-action, box-to-box playing style in central midfield, combined with his ability to play on the wing in a pinch, should make him a natural fit for Howe’s tactics and playing style.

That would leave enough cash to go after a new goalkeeper, and with Trafford set to head to Manchester City instead of St. James’ Park, perhaps a bid for Porto’s Diogo Costa, whose comfort outside of the box again makes him a useful target for a team which prefer to play with a high line, would make sense.

He’s expected to be available for around £35m and, thanks to his performances for Portugal, is a known quantity at the very top level. At 25 years old, he may not be quite as youthful as Trafford but he still has plenty of good years left ahead of him and would quite possibly be a better player out of the gate.

Newcastle could sign all three players and spend, at most, £150m – roughly what they would expect to receive for Isak if they do feel forced to sell. They’d still want a centre-back, but their budget would surely stretch to Marc Guéhi quite comfortably or, if Liverpool somehow managed to pip them to another post there, perhaps Marseille’s impressive Leandro Balerdi. There would probably even be change left over for another winger to add some much-needed depth.

Losing Isak would be a huge blow, both to the club’s attacking output and psychologically. They see Isak as a player who they can build around as they move from the fringes of the top four up towards potential titles, and his premature departure would hurt on more levels than just the dent it puts in the goals scored column.

They aren’t forced to sell. Isak is contracted until 2028, and the only risk to them by forcing him to stay put is that he turns into a malcontent whose effort and application drop as a result. Whether that’s likely or not is a judgement call that only those within the dressing room can make – but if Isak does leave, then at least they will have the money to add a thoroughly respectable replacement and to shore up several other sections of the squad. It wouldn’t be all doom and gloom. Just a bit of it.