Alexander Isak sealed transfer despite 'protection' and was at centre of ugly club fallout

Alexander Isak's tense standoff with Newcastle United is unwanted but not unknown for the Liverpool transfer target. After making his intentions clear that he wants to explore opportunities away from St James' Park, the Reds have had a bid worth £110million offer knocked back by the Magpies.

Despite Newcastle's repeated claims that Isak isn't available, the 25-year-old has been told to train alone after missing the pre-season tour to Asia. As things stand, it would come as a massive shock if he features in Eddie Howe's squad for their Premier League curtain-raiser against Aston Villa on August 16.

Liverpool remain interested in Isak and could table a fresh offer before the transfer deadline. However, they will not be held to ransom despite offloading Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich and agreeing to sell Darwin Nunez to Al-Hilal. With the clock ticking, Mirror Football looks back on the various transfer sagas Isak has already been at the centre of in his career...

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Real Madrid snub and Tuchel row

During his teenage years as a rising star with AIK Solna in Sweden, Isak caught the attention of numerous European giants, with Real Madrid among the suitors. He agreed a deal with the La Liga giants just after turning 17, before having second thoughts. Instead, he chose Borussia Dortmund, drawn by their track record of nurturing promising youngsters.

Speaking to FourFourTwo magazine, he explained: "Everyone knows that Borussia is a good club to develop at as a young player because so many of them are in the first-team. I want to play here and I am waiting for my chance, and I'll take it when it comes."

However, his arrival only created friction behind the scenes between then-boss Thomas Tuchel and the club's top brass. Tuchel made it abundantly clear Isak wasn't his choice by admitting in a press conference that he'd never heard of the youngster, forcing chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke to issue an apology to the player.

The now-England boss was furious that he hadn't been involved in discussions about the deal. When quizzed about Isak, he curtly responded: "Talk to [Dortmund sporting director] Michael Zorc [about it]."

Tuchel departed the club shortly after but Isak still struggled for opportunities as three different managers came and went within a year. A temporary stint in Dutch football with Willem II helped resurrect his career before his switch to Real Sociedad for a modest £7.5m in 2019.

Buyback clause

Despite offloading him for a relatively small fee, Dortmund included a buyback option of approximately £26m in the deal. With Isak finding the net regularly for Sociedad, Dortmund mulled over bringing him back to Signal Iduna Park as a long-term successor to Erling Haaland.

Nevertheless, with Isak determined to remain in Spain, Sociedad struck a £5m agreement with Dortmund to scrap the clause in 2021. Isak made his feelings clear, saying: "I'm fully aware that there is a clause.

"All I can say is that Dortmund is in my past and not in my future. I'm doing very well here, and I'm not thinking about going back at all. I'm only focusing on Real Sociedad at the moment."

Arsenal interest

As Isak's reputation soared, he began catching the eye of Premier League sides, with Arsenal among those keen on him. The Gunners made an attempt to secure his signature in early 2022 but were unable to reach a deal.

Sociedad sporting director Roberto Olabe responded to the speculation surrounding Isak by declaring the club was "well protected" thanks to his release clause, believed to be around £75m.

Perennial nearly-men Arsenal have been hunting for a world-class striker ever since, finally landing one this summer with Viktor Gyokeres' arrival from Sporting CP.

Isak forces move

Newcastle didn't need to fork out £75m for Isak's services, though there were fraught talks as they battled to complete the transfer, ultimately stumping up a club-record £63m for the forward.

Just before the switch materialised, Sociedad were still anticipating Isak would remain at the club, with president Jokin Aperribay revealing to Spanish media: "We did not expect Isak to leave."

Nevertheless, once Isak's agents made Sociedad aware of their client's ambition to join Newcastle, they were left with little choice. Whether a similar scenario unfolds with Liverpool over the next few weeks remains to be seen.

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