Liverpool confirm British record £125m Alexander Isak transfer from Newcastle United

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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 completed the signing of Alexander Isak from Newcastle United for a British-record fee of £125m.

The Sweden international has penned a six-year deal to become the most expensive capture in Anfield history and the move ends a summer-long saga at St James' Park that culminated with strike action from the player.

Isak, who takes the No.9 shirt, has since flown out of Merseyside to meet up with his Sweden colleagues ahead of their World Cup qualifiers with Slovenia and Kosovo on September 5 and 8, respectively.

The Reds offered £110m at the start of August but saw their opening gambit rejected for the wantaway Isak, with the Magpies desperate to sign two frontmen before considering a sale for their star man, who they rated at £150m.

READ MORE:Liverpool players preparing for ‘chaos’ as fixture reality loomsREAD MORE:What sparked Marc Guehi transfer collapse as Liverpool suffer Deadline Day blow

After missing out on Benjamin Sekso, who joined Manchester United for £73m, Newcastle signed Germany Under-21 striker Nick Woltemade on Friday for a fee of around £65m from Stuttgart, which was understood to have been the catalyst for a softening of the stance on Isak by the club's owners, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.

Newcastle had initially wanted £150m for Isak but after the player made it clear he would not play again for the club, the key decision makers on Tyneside and in Riyadh were eventually forced to return to the negotiating table with the Premier League champions.

Talks resumed on Sunday evening with a fee of £125m eventually struck between the two, which allowed Newcastle to reach a £55m agreement with Brentford for Yoane Wissa, who had released a detailed statement earlier in the day outlining why he wanted to leave the Bees.

After discussions opened in mid-July between the two parties, Isak privately communicated his desire to leave for Merseyside and was left off their pre-season tour of the Far East by citing a minor injury.

The decision to return to training later that month by using the facilities of former club Real Sociedad was a controversial one that was met with fury from fans in the North East.

Isak has trained alone at Newcastle's Benton facility ever since and has played no part in either the pre-season schedule or the three games of the new Premier League season, and despite posturing over retaining the 25-year-old, it was eventually accepted that a late move to Liverpool was best for all concerned.

Transfer deadline day is almost upon us and Liverpool still have business to do.

It's already been a busy summer for the Premier League champions but they could still pull off a couple of blockbuster signings as the window comes to a close.

Alexander Isak's future remains unresolved, with the striker refusing to play or train for Newcastle United.

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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The former Borussia Dortmund frontman released an explosive statement on August 19 where he spoke of broken promises and a loss of trust just moments after he was included in the PFA Team of the Year for 24/25, at an event at the Manchester Opera House where he did not attend.

Newcastle hurried out their own response later that night insisting the conditions to sell him had not yet been met.

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

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

Isak was on Merseyside on Monday for his Reds medical and has taken the No.9 shirt that was vacated by Darwin Nunez following the Uruguayan's move to Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal last month.