Liverpool will not be held to ransom in pursuit of Alexander Isak

Liverpool will not be held to ransom in their pursuit of Newcastle striker Alexander Isak.

The PA news agency understands the Premier League champions remain keen on the 25-year-old Sweden international, who was made to train by himself on Tyneside on Wednesday after missing the Magpies’ pre-season trip to Singapore and South Korea amid speculation over his future.

However, as they await completion of Darwin Nunez’s proposed €53 million – around £46.3million – plus bonuses move to Saudi club Al Hilal, sources on Merseyside indicated they would not enter a bidding war as they sought a replacement.

Liverpool’s admiration of Isak, who scored what proved to be the winning goal against them in last season’s Carabao Cup final at Wembley, is well known and they have already tabled a bid of around £110m, which was swiftly rejected.

Newcastle have repeatedly insisted the Swede, for whom they paid Real Sociedad £63m during the summer of 2022, is simply not for sale and with three years remaining on his existing contract, they hold a strong position in one sense.

However Isak, who signalled his intention to explore his options during the current transfer window, has so far resisted all overtures to sign a new, long-term deal at St James’ Park and that appears to have encouraged the Anfield club that they may be able to prise him from head coach Eddie Howe’s grasp.

That said, the Reds are understood to have drawn up a series of criteria which will govern their pursuit of the former AIK Solna and Borussia Dortmund forward, or indeed alternative targets.

Among them are an insistence that any replacement must be of the required quality, must represent fair market value and perhaps most importantly, must be realistically attainable.

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