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At the beginning of the summer, things looked like they were plain sailing for the Reds as they would identify a target and go and sign them, no matter how big a name they were.
However, as of late, signing their top targets has not been as straightforward, with Alexander Isak proving the most difficult.
Despite showing their cards early and the Swede doing all he can to force a move, Newcastle’s resolve has been tested but they have held strong, with the Magpies showing no signs of budging just yet.
Isak remains persistent in his beliefs, though, but former Liverpool player Jan Molby thinks that the latest trick he has pulled is his biggest mistake yet.
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As the days pass by, the Isak situation just gets messier and messier, with it now surely beyond the point of no return.
The 25-year-old has insisted that he will never play for the club again and most recently broke his silence by releasing a statement, one in which he blamed ‘broken promises’ for the reason he has done what he has.
Although this excited Liverpool supporters and made them believe that it is only a matter of time before he arrives at Anfield, Molby actually thinks it is the opposite and he has shot himself in the foot.
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“Normally in a situation like that, we are desperate to hear from the people involved, but in this instance, I think he should have kept quiet,” Molby told the Anfield Index.
“Nobody is in doubt that he wants to leave Newcastle, but as things stand, he’s not actually said anything and has stayed away from verbally saying ‘I want to leave the football club’.
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“He said two words, ‘promises’ and ‘issues’, so then tell me what the promises and issues are!
This then puts Newcastle on the back foot because if he is telling the truth, then they are going to have to come out and lie.
He’s left the door open for them to come back.”
Newcastle came back with a statement of their own to shut these accusations down and insist that he will not be sold until their conditions are met, something that seems a long way off with such little time remaining.
When a player refuses to play anymore, they quite often get their desired move as there is no point keeping someone who is unhappy at the club.
But Newcastle appear to be approaching this differently and as time passes, he becomes increasingly likely to stay.
The Magpies want two new strikers before allowing the Swede to go, but as things stand, they are struggling to even get one through the door.
Yoane Wissa is proving more difficult than first imagined due to Brentford’s stance, with the Congolese star also refusing to play anymore.
As for a second striker, that does not appear to have gained any traction at all, highlighting just how unlikely a move for Isak to Liverpool is with less than a week left in the transfer window.
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