Newcastle United can now bag £60m transfer hijack over Man Utd to give PL rivals taste of their own medicine
Newcastle United star Alexander Isak has admitted that he wants to explore a possible transfer away from St James’ Park
Newcastle United’s underwhelming pre-season went from bad to worse when it became apparent that Alexander Isak wouldn’t be travelling to the team’s pre-season trip to Asia. Club sources at the time suggested it was a precautionary measure due to the Swede’s recovery from a thigh injury which had also ruled him out of the side’s opening friendly defeat to Celtic.
It immediately fuelled rumours of a departure from St. James’ Park, with Liverpool making a formal inquiry for Isak before eventually splashing out £79m on long-term Magpies target Hugo Ekitike instead.
Those wicked whispers soon gained substance, when Mail Sport’s Craig Hope broke news that Isak was interested in ‘exploring other options’ away from the North East, with Liverpool despite splashing out nearly £300m on new recruits, being the favourites to return to the table.
Why Alexander Isak wants to leave Newcastle United
Isak is without doubt one of the best finishers in world football and by some distance Newcastle United’s most talented striker since Alan Shearer retired in 2006.
Isak has scored 62 times in 109 appearances for the North East club since making the £63m move from Real Sociedad in 2022, and in the space of three years has been a catalyst for the club achieving Champions League qualification twice while also lifting the League Cup; ending a 70-year wait for domestic silverware in the process.
He’s currently under contract with Newcastle until 2028 but despite being one of the highest earners at the club, believes his performances on the pitch now merits earning £250k to £300k. He's not earning that at Newcastle, and he knows the other top strikers in the Premier League are raking in that kind of money.
Talks over an extension to Isak’s contract had started before Newcastle’s co-owner Amanda Stavely’s decision to sell her shares in the summer of 2024, but were ultimately shelved due to PSR concerns at the time. This is reported to have unsettled Isak at the time, although Eddie Howe has since been able to deescalate the situation.
Ultimately, Newcastle’s failure to so far to give Isak what he wants in terms of earnings has been a factor that’s unsettled him, while he also has a strong desire to win major honours - he could see a move as his main chance of achieving that goal, after seeing his side miss out on many key targets such as Joao Pedro and Hugo Ekitike among others.
As it stands, Newcastle are looking for a resolution. Whether that’s offering Isak a contract extension with a possible release clause to satisfy both parties, or giving the striker assurances about the club’s ambition to continue growing towards an elite club remains to be seen. It’s expected that Newcastle would want at least £150m if they do decide to sell Isak, but it remains to be seen whether any club is in a position to spend that level of money.
The £60m transfer hijack Newcastle United could make to Man Utd
While it’s far from a formality that Alexander Isak will leave Newcastle at this stage, it’s fair to say that the club have begun discussing potential targets to replace the 25-year-old if he does leave. One of those as reported by BBC Sport is thought to be RB Leipzig frontman Benjamin Sesko.
Manchester United have been heavily linked with the 22-year-old Slovenian international throughout the summer but are yet to make a formal bid as they aim to tread lightly to avoid breaking any PSR rules. The Red Devils are essentially in a position where they need to sell to buy after failing to qualify for Europe and falling to their lowest league position since 1974.
While it all may seem a bit doom and gloom on the Toon right now, Newcastle are in a much healthier position in terms of PSR after failing to make a single major signings during the summer of 2024 and cashing in on youngsters such as Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh.
The Magpies have Champions League football on the horizon, are still on a high after securing domestic silverware and have shown intent to sign players despite a series of failed bids earlier in the window.
Would Benjamin Sesko be a good Alexander Isak replacement?
Benjamin Sesko boasts a record of 39 goals and eight assists in 87 matches since signing for RB Leipzig.This means currently he’s got a goal ratio of around 0.44 per game, which is lower than Alexander Isak’s current tally of 0.56 in a Newcastle United shirt.
However, Sesko is the same age as Isak when he completed his move to Newcastle. And in terms of value at £60m, he’s worth approximately what the Magpies paid to sign Isak from Real Sociedad. Therefore, it’s perhaps fairer to compare Isak’s record at Real Sociedad, which is 44 goals in 132 matches, approximately 0.33 goals per game.This means that as it stands, Sesko has been scoring goals at a better rate for Leipzig than Isak had been before his move to St. James’ Park.
Sesko, unlike Isak before he signed for Newcastle, has also already played Champions League football, scoring six across 28 appearances for Leipzig. He’s blessed with terrific pace, an excellent eye for goal, terrific strength, and like Isak stands at 6ft 4in, making him an imposing figure for opposition defenders to deal with.
Yussuf Poulsen, who spent 12 seasons at Leipzig before leaving earlier this month, said: "As a striker, he's the best I've played with," t via Manchester Evening News. "If you look at his abilities, he has everything a top number nine needs.
"He's still young, he still needs to learn, not the technical things about being a striker but maybe more the finesse side. He has everything, strength shooting, technique, everything. I like working with him and I'm trying to get him there – he'll go on and score a lot of goals for us and some point go to the club he'll love to play for."
Ultimately, it’s not yet clear whether Sesko can get to the heights that Isak is at Newcastle, but it’s clear that he possesses many of the attributes of the Swede, which would make him a worthwhile addition this summer.
It would also make a refreshing change for Newcastle fans to see the club hijack a deal from a Premier League rival after James Trafford became the latest target to join another top tier English side, as he closes in on a move to Manchester City. With Bryan Mbeumo, Mathias Cunha, Liam Delap and Joao Pedro all ultimately opting to join other Premier League clubs over the Magpies, it’s time they finally beat one of their adversaries to a major signing.