Liverpool sets British transfer record to land Isak
The summer-long transfer saga involving Alexander Isak reached a conclusion as he finally got his wish for a move to Liverpool from Newcastle United as the English champion agreed a British record fee to sign the forward on a long-term deal.
Isak's stand-off with Newcastle has dominated the start of the season but the impasse was broken with Liverpool paying a reported 125 million pounds for the 25 year-old Swede.
The fee eclipses Chelsea's up-front 107 million pounds paid for Enzo Fernandez and the 100 million plus 15 million in add ons they splashed out for fellow midfielder Moises Caicedo.
"It's been a long journey to get here. But I'm super-happy to be a part of this team, this club and everything it stands for," Liverpool's new number nine Isak told the club's website.
"It's something I'm proud of and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm happy it's done and that I can get back to work."
Isak arrived at Newcastle three years ago from Real Sociedad and proved a huge hit with his goals twice helping the north-east club qualify for the Champions League and end a 70-year domestic trophy drought in last season's League Cup final.
His cult status on Tyneside rapidly deteriorated though as the Swede made clear that he wanted to leave and was effectively frozen out, playing no part in Newcastle's opening games of this season and not even training with the first team.
Newcastle confirmed his departure in a terse 37-word statement.
Isak's capture takes Liverpool's close-season spending above 450 million pounds after it smashed the club's transfer record for a second time, having signed Germany's Florian Wirtz in a deal that could eventually rise to 116 million pounds.
While Liverpool's forward line is still led by Kop idol Mohamed Salah, and new signing Hugo Ekitike has hit the ground running, the sale of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and the tragic death of Diogo Jota left manager Arne Slot's options limited.
So the arrival of a player who Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes described last season as the 'best striker in the world' will be a massive boost to Liverpool's hopes of winning back-to-back titles for the first time since 1984.
"I think I have a lot to give, I think I have a lot to improve. I'm a striker but I always want to give as much as possible to the team, mainly goals but much more than that as well," Isak, who has 52 caps, said.
"I want to win everything. Yeah, (as simple as that)."
When Newcastle beat Liverpool 2-1 to win the Carabao Cup in March, with Isak scoring its second goal at Wembley, his popularity with the Toon Army looked unshakeable.
Forwards are revered like nowhere else at St James' Park and Isak had joined an elite club that included the likes of Jackie Milburn, Malcolm MacDonald, Alan Shearer and Peter Beardsley.
With 62 goals in 109 appearances, including 54 in 86 in the Premier League, Isak's numbers compared favourably with the very best that had donned the famous black and white stripes.
He scored 23 league goals last season to guide Newcastle back to the Champions League with a fifth-placed finish.
Yet in the space of a few weeks the striker has alienated those who idolised him with his role in a stand-off Newcastle manager Eddie Howe described as a "lose-lose" for all involved.
Something was clearly brewing when Isak did not join Newcastle on its pre-season tour of Asia as rumours swirled of interest from newly-crowned champions Liverpool.
After Liverpool's initial bid was rejected, Isak was forced to train away from the first team and was not in the squad for their opening three league games in which Newcastle fans sang uncomplimentary songs about the Swede.
Isak was named in the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) team of the year but did not attend the award ceremony, citing "everything going on" as the reason for his no-show.
The rift deepened when Isak accused Newcastle of breaking promises and misleading supporters in a statement in which he said change was in the "best interests of everyone."
Newcastle responded, saying that there had never been a commitment by the club to allow him to be sold in the summer.
The visit of Liverpool to St James' Park for Newcastle's first home game produced a febrile atmosphere as the visitor won 3-2 with Ekitike, who Newcastle had wanted to sign possibly as Isak's replacement, on target for Liverpool.
Hours before that game Newcastle chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan jetted in and was reported to be part of a delegation from the club to hold peace talks with Isak but there was no going back.
