What Liverpool have now realised about signing Alexander Isak from Newcastle United

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Newcastle United were without Alexander Isak for the defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday night.

The striker was missing with a groin problem which he felt following his heroics in the win against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

While Eddie Howe had to make do without his star striker, the chances are that Newcastle’s defeat to Liverpool would have been the same result whether he played or not. The Magpies failed to register a shot on target with Callum Wilson upfront, although they did have the ball in the back of the net in the first half which was called back for offside.

Newcastle United fans will now be hoping that Alexander Isak’s issue is not serious with the Carabao Cup final now just a few weeks away. The Swede has been embroiled in transfer speculation this season after it was revealed that Isak’s Newcastle contract talks stalled – sporting director Paul Mitchell is now keen to hand Isak a new deal to deter any suitors.

Reports have suggested that Liverpool could sign Isak as a replacement for Mohamed Salah, who looks set to leave the Premier League leaders in the summer. A new report has now stated how those inside Liverpool feel about signing Isak in the summer.

Liverpool not confident of signing Alexander Isak from Newcastle

At times this season, Isak has been an unstoppable force. His goalscoring prowess was on show during Newcastle’s win against Nottingham Forest where he scored a brace out of nowhere – proving that he can still find the net when he is not at the peak of his powers.

Isak has scored 21 goals in all competitions this season, including 19 goals in the Premier League which have helped Newcastle up to sixth and on the cusp of Champions League qualification.

According to TeamTalk, the links between Liverpool and Isak are nothing more than admiration at this point in time. The Reds realise that it will be almost impossible to sign him in the summer.

Their chances of landing him will take an even bigger hit if Newcastle qualify for the Champions League. Thanks to UEFA coefficient rules, Newcastle should only need to finish fifth because of how well the English clubs are performing in Europe.

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The report also states that Liverpool will instead look to sign Brighton striker Joao Pedro, who Newcastle almost signed in 2022.

With other Premier League clubs seemingly backing off Isak, the ball is now in Newcastle’s court to hand him a new lucrative deal.

Newcastle should still sign a striker despite Alexander Isak news

While fans will be happy to learn that the chances of Isak leaving are now becoming slimmer, there is still a desire to strengthen their options up top.

As well as Isak, Newcastle have Callum Wilson and William Osula available to them as natural strikers. However, Wilson’s contract runs out at the end of the season and Howe does not seem fully confident in Osula yet.

Newcastle also realise that Osula can play on the wing and may look to utilise him there towards the end of the season, rather than as a striker.

Mitchell is expected to be busy in the summer with several players expected to join the club and many current Toon stars tipped to leave. He must now make sure that one of those players arriving is someone who can be easily placed into a starting XI if Isak is ever unavailable.

It came as a big shock when it was announced that Isak wasn’t available, almost as if Newcastle were doomed from the start when Wilson was picked.