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It is a transfer saga that has grabbed the attention of the footballing world for weeks now.

There is a feeling however, that it may now be getting a bit messy.

Alexander Isak desperately wants to join Liverpool, that much is obvious, but the Swedish striker has now gone on strike and will refuse to play for Newcastle United until the move is finalized.

For this to happen, Newcastle United have to sign a replacement for him, and time is quickly running out to do that.

The transfer window shuts on September 1st, and only time will decide who Alexander Isak goes on to play his football for.

The Magpies’ summer has been hugely disrupted by the actions of Alexander Isak.

The 25-year-old was absent from the entirety of the club’s pre-season schedule.

The reason was initially put down to a minor thigh issue, but as time went on it became clear that the real reason for his absence was his desire to move to Liverpool.

Liverpool tried their luck earlier this month with a bid over £100m but it was rejected.

The nature of Newcastle United’s rejection leaves the Reds unlikely to make another bid at this stage, but that could soon change if Eddie Howe’s side manage to replace their star striker.

Newcastle United defender Dan Burn was asked to comment on the player’s reaction to all the disruption, as he appeared on TNT Sports before his club’s Premier League opener against Aston Villa on Saturday.

He said: “There’s been a lot of external noise around us this year?

We’ve just spoken there, we’re starting from zero again, we’ve got a lot to prove and ready to go.”

Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch then asked whether Burn thinks all the noise surrounding Isak has brought the squad closer together.

“I think so

I think it’s a lot of external noise but we’re quite a tight knit group and we just get on with it.”

“We’ve been four, five weeks without Alex so for us it’s that he’s not involved at the moment but we’ve got the players to step up and contribute with the goals.”

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