Liverpool smashes British transfer record to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle

Liverpool smashes British transfer record to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle

The summer-long transfer saga involving Alexander Isak reached a conclusion on Monday as he finally got his wish for a move to Liverpool from Newcastle United, as the English champion agreed a British record fee to sign the forward on a long-term deal.

Isak’s stand-off with Newcastle has dominated the start of the season, but the impasse was broken with Liverpool paying a reported 125 million pounds for the 25-year-old Swede.

The fee eclipses Chelsea’s up-front 107 million pounds paid for Enzo Fernandez and the 100 million plus 15 million in add-ons it splashed out for fellow midfielder Moises Caicedo.

“It’s been a long journey to get here. But I’m super-happy to be a part of this team, this club and everything it stands for,” Liverpool’s new number nine Isak told the club’s website.

“It’s something I’m proud of and I’m really looking forward to it. I’m happy it’s done and that I can get back to work,” he added.

Isak arrived at Newcastle three years ago from Real Sociedad and proved a huge hit with his goals, twice helping the north-east club qualify for the Champions League and end a 70-year domestic trophy drought in last season’s League Cup final.

His cult status on Tyneside rapidly deteriorated, though, as the Swede made clear that he wanted to leave and was effectively frozen out, playing no part in Newcastle’s opening games of this season and not even training with the first team.

Newcastle confirmed his departure in a terse 37-word statement on Monday.

Isak’s capture takes Liverpool’s close-season spending above 450 million pounds after it smashed the club’s transfer record for a second time, having signed Germany’s Florian Wirtz in a deal that could eventually rise to 116 million pounds.

While Liverpool’s forward line is still led by Kop idol Mohamed Salah, and new signing Hugo Ekitike has hit the ground running, the sale of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and the tragic death of Diogo Jota left manager Arne Slot’s options limited.

So the arrival of a player whom Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes described last season as the ‘best striker in the world’ will be a massive boost to Liverpool’s hopes of winning back-to-back titles for the first time since 1984.

“I think I have a lot to give, I think I have a lot to improve. I’m a striker but I always want to give as much as possible to the team, mainly goals but much more than that as well,” Isak, who has 52 caps, said.

“I want to win everything. Yeah, (as simple as that),” he added.

Published on Sep 02, 2025