Liverpool agree £125m Alexander Isak transfer as Newcastle striker set for medical

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Liverpool have agreed to sign Newcastle United striker for £125m, which will smash the British transfer record(Image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Liverpool have reached a British-record agreement with Newcastle United for Alexander Isak.

The striker is now set for a medical ahead of a £125m move to Anfield on transfer deadline day.

The 25-year-old will become the most expensive signing in the club's history, eclipsing the £116m deal struck with Bayer Leverkusen for Florian Wirtz in June, and a six-year contract will be penned.

The Reds re-opened talks with their Premier League counterparts over the weekend and reached an agreement late on Sunday evening, paving the way for Isak to complete the formalities of his dream move in time for the 7pm deadline on Monday.

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Isak is slated to take part in his first competitive fixture since May when Sweden play a World Cup qualifier against Slovenia on Friday, September 5 and the forward is likely to take the No.9 shirt at Anfield that was vacated by Darwin Nunez after his exit in July.

The blockbuster deal brings an end to a summer-long saga that has seen Isak both privately and publicly agitate to leave St James' Park to join Arne Slot's champions, a stance which has led to him taking strike action in the North East.

And having insisted that they needed to sign two strikers before agreeing to a sale at £150m, the Magpies are now set to lose their star player for £25m below their initial valuation, having only added Nick Woltemade to their ranks since informing Liverpool of their conditions at the beginning of August, when a £110m offer was swiftly rebuffed.

The Reds were reported to have informed the Magpies in July they were willing to offer around £120m for Isak, which was news that emerged just days before the player missed the pre-season friendly defeat to Celtic on July 19.

Isak subsequently opted against joining his colleagues on their pre-season tour of the Far East, citing a minor injury and returned to training by using the facilities of his former club, Real Sociedad.

At the beginning of August, the 20-time champions saw a flat £110m offer rejected by Newcastle and the nature of the response from Tyneside had been enough for the Reds to pause further negotiations while Eddie Howe and his recruitment staff attempted to source an adequate successor.

However, it's understood the capture of Woltemade, which was confirmed on Friday, was the catalyst for the shift in attitude in the North East as senior officials softened on their previous hardline stance over a big-money sale of their No.14.

After missing out to Manchester United for Benjamin Sesko in a £73m deal in August, Newcastle have been looking to bring in Yoane Wissa of Brentford and Wolves' Norway international Jorgen Strand Larsen.

But the Magpies finally made the breakthrough in their efforts to reconfigure the forward line when they signed Germany Under-21 international Woltemade from Stuttgart for a fee of around £65m.

The fee banked from Isak's sale will see Newcastle attempt to further bolster their forward options before 7pm on Monday.

The Reds sold both Luis Diaz and Nunez in July, with the Colombia international joining Bayern Munich in a £65.5m deal before his fellow South American signed for Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal for around £45m.

Isak had been determined to force through a move to Liverpool and having been made to train alone at Newcastle's Benton training facility, the 25-year-old released an explosive update about his plans in mid-August, via his Instagram account, just moments after he was included in the PFA's Premier League team of the season for the 24/25 term.

"I've kept quiet for a long time while others have spoken," he said on August 19.

When promises are broken and trust is lost, the relationship can't continue."

Newcastle hurried out their own response later that evening, saying: “We are clear in response that Alex remains under contract and that no commitment has ever been made by a club official that Alex can leave Newcastle United this summer," read the Magpies' response.

“We want to keep our best players, but we also understand players have their own wishes and we listen to their views.

"As explained to Alex and his representatives, we must always take into consideration the best interests of Newcastle United, the team and our supporters in all decisions and we have been clear that the conditions of a sale this summer have not transpired.

Liverpool remain interested in a deal for the Swede.

Meanwhile, Marc Guehi has been a player of interest all summer and Liverpool could still launch a last-minute deal for the Crystal Palace defender.

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Isak was visited by a delegation from Newcastle's ownership group, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, including PIF chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, last Monday in a late attempt to change the frontman's mind.

However Isak, who scored 23 Premier League goals last term, is desperate to join the champions and the talks proved fruitless for PIF, who reluctantly accepted it was time to renegotiate with Liverpool as the transfer window entered its final days.

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The Magpies had previously been steadfast in their refusal to sell their star man, who has three years left on the contract he signed when he arrived from Real Sociedad for £63m in 2022, but have now accepted the terms tabled by Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes.

Isak will take Liverpool's spending to around £445m, with around half of that recouped in sales.