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Liverpool continue to be linked with Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak.

(Image: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire.)

A trip to Newcastle United is always one of the toughest tests of the season for Liverpool.

The Geordies are a passionate bunch who love their football and when the first home game of the new term is against the Premier League champions under the lights at St James' Park, then they will be bang up for it, rest assured.

But throw in the situation around Alexander Isak right now and there is real potential for fireworks next Monday, which means Liverpool will have to stand up and be counted.

It's an early test of their mental strength and title credentials.

You look at the last couple of times the Reds have gone there: they weren't at their best in December but would have come away with a hard-fought 3-2 win had it not been for a late error from the goalkeeper, while the season before it was Darwin Nunez's late double that intervened and stole the points for the 10 men after Virgil van Dijk had been sent off.

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So this one on Monday will be another difficult assignment and Liverpool can't fold under the pressure.

No-one was more gutted than when Kevin Keegan left in 1997 and more recently we've had players who have rocked the boat in an attempt to get out of Anfield.

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Luis Suarez, Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres have all caused mischief to get their move, so Liverpool fans know all too well what their Newcastle counterparts are experiencing at the moment where Isak is concerned.

No player has ever been bigger than the club though when it comes to Liverpool and they have always managed to thrive after their big stars have left.

Isak is a top striker but that sort of fee for a player who clearly wants to leave and has even gone on strike to get it over the line I find incredible.

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It's a situation that has not been handled well up at Newcastle but even their Saudi Arabian owners must realise it might be for the best to move him on and reinvest that money.


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