Liverpool’s pursuit of Alexander Isak from Newcastle may be giving some supporters a serious sense of deja vu.

Isak has reportedly refused to travel on Newcastle’s tour of Singapore and South Korea this summer, with a thigh injury cited as being the official reason for his absence.

Although the Swede’s niggling injury may turn out to be beneficial to Liverpool on this occasion, fans will be struck by similarities to the case of Philippe Coutinho in 2017.

Subject to intense interest from Barcelona, Coutinho missed the start of Liverpool’s season with a supposed back injury.

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With the player putting pressure on the club to sell him, it seemed inevitable that Coutinho would be heading to Catalonia.

However, in a move which the Newcastle owners may wish to take note of, FSG took drastic action to shut the door on the Brazilian’s exit.

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As the season got underway in mid-August, speculation surrounding Coutinho was at its absolute peak.

That’s why, on August 11th, the Liverpool owners took the unprecedented step of releasing a statement on the club’s official website.

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“We wish to offer clarity as regards our position on a possible transfer of Philippe Coutinho,” read the short press release.

“The club’s definitive stance is that no offers for Philippe will be considered and he will remain a member of Liverpool Football Club when the summer window closes.”

READ MORE: What Newcastle failing to sign Benjamin Sesko would mean for Alexander Isak joining Liverpool

While this was by no means a water-tight declaration – no one can predict the future after all – FSG stood firm for the remainder of the window.

As promised, Coutinho remained at Liverpool once the market ended.

The intervening months gave the Reds the space to hash out a massive deal with Barcelona, while the framework for Virgil van Dijk’s January move from Southampton was also put in place.

The similarities between the situations of Coutinho and Isak are clear, right down to the likely transfer fee.

Throughout the summer, the Newcastle owners have indeed been clear that Isak is not for sale.

However, should Liverpool firm up their interest with a bid, that stance could be tested.

In order to shut the door firmly on Liverpool, perhaps Newcastle will aim to take a leaf out of FSG’s book and go public in their ‘not for sale’ insistence.

Should that happen, it feels unlikely that Liverpool would rock the boat and risk losing the player forever.

But while Coutinho was eventually reintegrated into the squad by Jurgen Klopp, things look to have gone even further with Isak.

Newcastle may have missed their chance to go full FSG.
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