Newcastle United's biggest test of the summer is imminent as Liverpool confirm £65m sale
Liverpool have announced the departure of Colombian winger Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich for £65 million, which is set to provide the funds for a mega-money move for Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak.
It feels like we're nearing a conclusion, one way or another, on the Alexander Isak saga now that Liverpool have sold Luis Diaz.
Many reports suggested that the Diaz move was the domino that needed to topple so that Liverpool could put their money where their mouth is and make a huge bid for Alexander Isak.
Isak is still in Newcastle, 'injured', and by injured we mean waiting for the call from Liverpool.
Will Yasir Al-Rumayyan's intervention make any difference?
Reports have suggested that Yasir Al-Rumayyan is to step in personally to block Isak's exit, but at this point, we're not sure whether that would be the right move.
It feels better for the club as a whole to cash in, take Liverpool's money and rebuild. Another star striker will emerge at some point, perhaps not immediately, but they will. Meanwhile, we can flesh out our paper-thin squad with minimal concern for PSR.
It just seems like a more practical move than having a wantaway player moping about the training ground, bringing everybody down.
Isak leaving would be far easier to handle if he weren't staying in the Premier League
If Liverpool do come up with the money in the next few days, it will be a massive test for the club as for how they handle it. They've been irritatingly adamant that they should command the best deal when buying, so can they do the same when selling?
As much as we are resigned to losing Isak, we don't believe Liverpool is in a position to pay below the odds. £120 million is the absolute minimum we should be accepting, and we really should be pushing for £150 million.
It makes us feel very queasy that he's potentially going to a Premier League side, so we have it rubbed in our face every time he scores, but that's football.
Of course, there's still a good chance that Isak goes nowhere this summer and is made to wait for his move. That might make the first few games of the season pretty awkward as fans will want to make their feeligns known, I imagine. But let's not go all Trent Alexander-Arnold on him if he does stay. We're better than that.
