Alexander Isak refusing to play ball after meeting with PIF and Jamie Reuben - Report

Despite our spirited, promising performance in Monday's defeat against Liverpool, there's still only one player being talked about in the media following the game.

Alexander Isak was of course absent from the squad for the game, as the Reds continue to flirt with the idea of signing the Swede, and Isak still set on completing a 'dream' move to Anfield.

And despite our owners rightfully sticking to their guns and insisting that Isak is going nowhere this summer, this hasn't stopped rumours circulating that we will part ways with our primary striker this late in the window.

It's forced Jamie Reuben and a PIF delegation to meet with Isak to outline his options and request he return to train with the squad, but it looks like we haven't got the answer we may have been hoping for...

Isak remains adamant on Anfield move

According to The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards, Isak is still insisting that he wants to move to Liverpool this summer, with it looking like Reuben and the PIF’s efforts haven’t succeeded so far.

The stance from the owners hasn’t changed: it will take a bid of around £150m for Isak to be sold, and we must have two strikers brought in already to facilitate any sort of move for Isak.

And considering our recent luck with top striker targets, these sale conditions almost certainly won’t be met any time soon.

Because our stance hasn’t changed, this will no doubt keep Isak away from the first team squad until at least the close of the transfer window, all but confirming that he won’t lead the line against Leeds United on Saturday.

Why haven’t Liverpool upped their bid yet?

The most frustrating part of the ongoing Isak saga has been how lightly Liverpool have publicly moved for the striker.

So far, only a bid of around £110m has been submitted to us: below what Arne Slot’s side spent to sign Florian Wirtz earlier this window.

The bid was met with great disgust and offence by us, and raised questions over whether it was a legitimate valuation or a method to simply unsettle Isak even further when we inevitably rejected it.

For the last fortnight we’ve been anticipating another bid, to which Edwards comments “It is understood Liverpool are unwilling to make another offer if there is no hope of it being accepted and will not pay anything close to Newcastle’s £150m asking price.”

With just a few days to go until the end of the window, it’s looking increasingly likely no sufficient bid will come - which will probably cause even more frustration for all parties on Tyneside after the summer of chaos that we’ve seen unfold.