ALEXANDER ISAK is at the centre of a tug-of-war between Newcastle and Liverpool.
SunSport makes a case whether he should lead the Toon into the Champions League or become Britain’s most-expensive player and join Arne Slot’s Reds.
Tyne to go… says Martin Lipton
FOR Alexander Isak, it’s not about the money — it must be about the challenge.
And while he can remain a ‘Local Hero’ on Tyneside by staying at Newcastle, strutting his stuff on the Anfield stage under the direction of Arne Slot will be tough to resist.
The Swede has flourished for Eddie Howe in his three years with the Toon.
Seen as a less-than-clinical finisher at Real Sociedad, Isak, 25, is a very different proposition with Newcastle.
He has netted 54 Premier League goals in the three seasons since his Toon-record £60million move, with 62 in all competitions and a career club total of 129.
Those numbers alone help suggest why Liverpool are ready to smash the British record and pay £120m to lure the Swede.
But 6ft 3in Isak has become an all-round striker: physically robust, able to come short or run in behind, rapid and just as good in the air as when he has the ball at his feet.
In short, exactly what a side aiming to conquer Europe and the Prem should be looking for.
And given the chance to become the new spearhead of Slot’s well-drilled Kop machine, it will take a man of stern resolve to say “No” — even before the wage offer is made. Newcastle are ready to throw everything they have to keep Isak.
But if Liverpool are happy to pay £120m to land him, they will be equally prepared to offer more than £250,000 a week — double his Toon pay packet.
Isak knows he would be the lead weapon in Slot’s already-stacked attacking armoury.
Mo Salah is coming off the back of his greatest season yet — with 29 goals and 18 assists in the Prem alone.
Cody Gakpo, who made the left-sided attacking spot his own, got 18 goals in all competitions.
And don’t forget Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, the best combination in the league last term, plus the newly acquired creativity and quality of £100m Grade A schemer Florian Wirtz.
Even the most devout soldier in the Toon Army could not, hand on heart, say Isak can win more with them than Liverpool.
When you hang up your boots, people don’t ask what you earned.
They ask what you won.
Tyne to stay… says Gary Stonehouse
HE IS already Alexander the Great… but the GREATEST is another matter.
The opportunity to topple Newcastle icon Alan Shearer — both in numbers and stature — should be something the Swede relishes.
Liverpool’s lure, both financially and on the pitch, is hard for anyone to resist, let alone one of Europe’s hottest strikers.
But the chance to prove yourself as the very best at a club famed for its forwards should be even more difficult to turn down.
That, plus the promise of a long-term deal to make him Newcastle’s highest-ever earner, should be all Isak thinks about.
He enjoys God-like status on Tyneside after his goal proved decisive in securing a 2-1 Carabao Cup final win over Liverpool at Wembley in March.
Not even Shearer could deliver a trophy to the long-suffering Toon Army.
Any Geordie would tell you Isak has already repaid the club-record £60million the Magpies paid Real Sociedad in 2022.
Despite ending that 70-year wait for major domestic silverware, Isak has a long way to go to surpass Shearer’s club-record haul of 206 goals.
But his record of 62 in 109 appearances suggests he could lead Eddie Howe’s side to even greater success. Some even believe the 25-year-old could surpass Shearer’s tally.
The incentives don’t stop there. Toon sources have already indicated they will break the club’s £150,000-a-week wage ceiling to keep him.
That would bring a net pay rise of at least £70,000-a-week and an annual package worth more than £10m.
The chase for Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike shows Newcastle intend to ease the burden on a man who has dealt with three groin injuries, a broken toe and a hamstring issue over the past two seasons.
The Magpies have already added to Isak’s supply line by bringing in Anthony Elanga.
And plans for a mega new stadium — plus Champions League qualification for the second time in three seasons — shows Saudi-backed Toon are ready to mix it at the top table.
And if he signs a long-term deal, you would back Isak to blast in the 145 goals needed over the next six or seven years to become Alexander the Greatest.
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