Liverpool have completed the signing of Newcastle striker Alexander Isak in a British-record deal worth £125m.
The deal eclipses the previous record of £115m which Chelsea paid Brighton for Moises Caicedo in 2023 and brings to an end the longest-running saga of this transfer window.
Newcastle announced Isak’s departure in a pointedly-terse 37-word statement that did not thank him or mention any of his achievements: „Newcastle United can announce the sale of striker Alexander Isak to Liverpool for a significant British record transfer fee. The Sweden international joined the Magpies from Real Sociedad in 2022 and made 109 appearances in all competitions.“
The Sweden international will wear the No9 shirt and has penned a six-year deal at Anfield, taking Liverpool’s spending to £446m this summer. They have recouped £228m in sales for a net spend of £218m.
„It’s been a long journey to get here,“ said Isak. „But I’m super happy to be a part of this team, this club and everything it stands for. It’s something I’m proud of and I’m really looking forward to it.
„I’m just happy it’s done and that I can get back to work. I’m looking forward to seeing my team-mates and the fans, and getting back out there.“
Isak added: „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. I want to win everything. Yeah, [as simple as that].“
Liverpool had a bid of £110m plus add-ons rejected for Isak at the start of August as Newcastle were unwilling to sell their star man without certain conditions being met.
Alexander Isak’s Premier League stats and ranks last season
Although Newcastle stressed they valued Isak at £150m, that stance softened in recent weeks as Isak, determined to explore his options, missed their opening games of the season and said „the relationship can’t continue“.
Isak scored 23 Premier League goals for Newcastle last season and netted their winner in the Carabao Cup final victory over Liverpool at Wembley, which ended the club’s 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy.
Newcastle signed Isak from Real Sociedad in August 2022 for £63m. In total, he scored 62 goals in 109 appearances for the Magpies. To replace Isak, Newcastle have signed Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart and Yoane Wissa from Brentford for a combined fee in the region of £119m.
Timeline of Isak saga
July 15: Liverpool told Isak not for sale in this window after making informal approach to Newcastle – and decide to rival them for Hugo Ekitike instead after being rebuffed.
July 19: Eddie Howe reveals after pre-season friendly defeat at Celtic that Isak travelled with the rest of the squad to Glasgow but he chose to send him home „due to the speculation around him“.
July 23: Liverpool beat Newcastle to the signing of Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt after the North East club had already missed out on Liam Delap and Joao Pedro.
July 24: Isak is not included in Newcastle’s squad for pre-season tour of Asia due to what Newcastle described as a „minor thigh injury“.
July 24: It later emerges that Isak has informed Newcastle he wants to explore his options in this transfer window.
July 31: Sky Sports News reports that Isak is training individually at former club Real Sociedad’s facilities.
August 1: Newcastle reject an official bid from Liverpool for Isak worth £110m plus add-ons.
August 2: Newcastle make formal bid to RB Leipzig for Benjamin Sesko worth nearly £70m and Isak later flies back to the North East after his personal training camp in Spain.
August 4: The striker returns to Newcastle’s training ground for the first time and has trained separately from his team-mates ever since.
August 4: Newcastle up their offer to RB Leipzig for Sesko amid interest from Manchester United.
August 8: Newcastle boss Eddie Howe says „we would love the player to be with us“ about Isak after he misses friendly win over Espanyol at St James‘ Park.
August 9: Manchester United beat Newcastle to the signing of Sesko despite their offer to RB Leipzig being lower.
August 16: Isak not included in Newcastle squad for Premier League season opener against Aston Villa – but Howe says „door is well and truly open“ for a return.
August 19: Isak skips PFA awards and releases a statement on Instagram accusing Newcastle of broken promises, telling the club „change is in the best interests of everyone“.
August 19: Newcastle release a statement in response to Isak, denying that promises were made to allow Isak to leave and insisting they would welcome him back when he is „ready to rejoin his team-mates“
August 28: Newcastle agree a deal for Stuttgart striker Nick Woltemade, which opens the door for Isak to leave St James‘ Park.
September 1: Newcastle and Liverpool agree a £125m deal for Isak, with the striker signing a six-year contract at Anfield.
In
Milos Kerkez – Bournemouth, £40m
Florian Wirtz – Bayer Leverkusen, £116m
Jeremie Frimpong – Bayer Leverkusen, £29.5m
Giorgi Mamardashvili – Valencia, £29m
Hugo Ekitike – Eintracht Frankfurt, £79m
Armin Pecsi – Puskas Akademia, £1.5m
Freddie Woodman – Preston, free
Giovanni Leoni – Parma, £26m
Alexander Isak – Newcastle, £125m
Out
Darwin Nunez – Al Hilal, £56.6m
Trent Alexander-Arnold – Real Madrid, £10m
Caoimhin Kelleher – Brentford, £18m
Jarell Quansah – Bayer Leverkusen, £35m
Luis Diaz – Bayern Munich, £65m
Tyler Morton – Lyon, £15m
Nat Phillips – West Brom, £3m
Ben Gannon Doak – Liverpool, £25m
Vitezslav Jaros – Ajax, loan
Owen Beck – Derby, loan
Luca Stephenson – Dundee United, loan
Lewis Koumas – Birmingham City, loan
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