It remains to be seen whether Liverpool will return with a second bid for Alexander Isak, after the Reds' opening bid of $146 million was rejected out of hand last week.

The Magpies' stance all along has been that it would take a bid of around $200 million to land the Sweden international, who has established himself as one of the world's best strikers over the last few years.

Liverpool has already spent big on two players this summer, committing over $100 million to deals to sign Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, and Isak would be the most expensive of the lot were he to move to Anfield.



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Isak did not travel with his teammates for Newcastle's pre-season tour of Asia, with the official reason being that he was carrying a slight injury, but it soon emerged what the real reason for his absence was.

Isak remains keen to leave Newcastle, but he is expected to resume training with his current club when the players return from the tour this week.

In Newcastle's final game of the tour, Anthony Gordon lined up as a striker due to the lack of options available to Eddie Howe at the moment, with Isak not present and Callum Wilson having left the club at the end of last season.

Newcastle has never won a Premier League game in which Gordon played through the middle, which underlines the club's need to keep hold of Isak ahead of the new season.

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Liverpool saw a bid for Alexander Isak turned down last week

Newcastle boss Howe was asked about Isak's situation ahead of his and his players' long flight back to the UK, and responded: “Of course, I'd like him to [stay], but I don’t know at this moment

James' Park club appears to be in competition with Manchester United to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig, while it is also working on a deal to sign Yoane Wissa from Brentford.

The decision over which club Sesko joins is seemingly in the player's hands

However, Newcastle is the only club to have submitted a formal offer for Sesko, believed to be worth around $93 million including add-ons
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