Liverpool willing to pay £120m for Alexander Isak as they approach Newcastle
The Premier League champions would be willing to offer around £120 million but that has prompted the Newcastle hierarchy to reiterate the message that their star player is not available this summer.
It remains to be seen whether that deters Liverpool. The suspicion is they would not have made an approach if they had not been encouraged to do so.
Liverpool have been looking for a new No 9 for some time and with Darwin Nunez expected to leave this summer, they have made their first move.
Should they force Newcastle's hand it will be the second time this summer they have broken the British transfer record, having already signed Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee that could rise to £116 million.
Liverpool are also understood to hold an interest in Newcastle target Hugo Ekitike and could bid for the France Under-21 international if the club do not budge on Isak.
Newcastle have been braced for this moment for months and are now mobilising to fight off Liverpool's approach. But there is naturally concern the player will have his head turned by Liverpool's enquiry.
Senior sources told Telegraph Sport on Tuesday that Newcastle do not want Isak to leave and will do everything in their power to keep him.
As things stand, Isak has not indicated he wants to leave but Newcastle are well aware of the fact the leaking of Liverpool's interest into the public domain is designed to unsettle the player.
The fact Liverpool's enquiry mentioned a fee well below Newcastle's valuation of the 25-year-old, which is in excess of £150 million, suggests this is just the first play in what could become a protracted transfer saga.
The chase for Ekitke further complicates matters. As revealed by Telegraph Sport, Newcastle have been pushing hard to sign the 23-year-old this week and are making steady progress, despite having an initial bid of around £65 million rejected by Eintracht Frankfurt.
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