Alexander Isak's Liverpool move at risk of collapse as Newcastle fear hijack - Report

Club chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan was very clear when he told the Newcastle United hierarchy that Alexander Isak must be kept at the club at all costs.

But unfortunately, the Swedish star looks to be trying his best to force a move to rivals Liverpool this window, much to our disappointment.

Club officials have communicated both on and off the record that Isak is not for sale, but for the sake of squad harmony (and securing a sale worth close to £150m), it wouldn’t be a surprise at this point to see the move happen.

However, it seems development over the past 24 hours are working against the Swede in his bid to end up at Anfield.

Sesko saga could keep Isak at Newcastle

The Mail's Craig Hope reports that the future of Benjamin Sesko looks to be tied to that of Isak, with the Slovenian's next step set to have a major impact the Swede’s future.

Should Sesko join Newcastle, then it would open the door for Isak's sale, seeing us land a top No. 9 with the sort of elite potential we'll crave in a replacement.

However, according to Hope, Newcastle fear the 22-year-old forward and 'top target' to replace Isak favours a move to Man Utd, who are now in formal talks over his signature and the favourites to hijack our pursuit of the 6ft 5' striker.

And with that, Isak's hopes of joining Liverpool have 'taken a hit', with Newcastle and PIF set to insist that Isak stays on Tyneside for another season if the club do not land an elite replacement; and few are left now Ekitike, Pedro and Gyokeres have all gone elsewhere.

Is it the right decision to keep an unhappy Isak?

The general feeling at the club is that Sesko will pick Manchester United, with the Red Devils still perceived by many as being a ‘top’ team to go to despite their current mess and lack of European football.

And those within the club have stressed that we won’t allow Isak to depart without a suitable enough replacement.

So do we run the risk of potentially alienating last season’s top scorer even further by expecting him to honour his contract to the fullest extent, having seen him and his agent do all they can to get out of it this summer?

Yes, we’ll have kept arguably the best striker in the country for another season, but skeptics will question if Isak will still deliver for us.

Will he refuse to train? Will he put in 100%? How would fans react to his return? And what will the mood be like in training when players and staff he's ditched for the past 10 days potentially reconvene?

It’s no secret how we only want players who want to be at Newcastle United, and we won’t accept anything less. Howe is big on this. But keep Isak and we'll almost certainly have an unhappy camper in our ranks.