Liverpool are desperate to sign Alexander Isak to place the cherry on the cake that is their 2025 transfer window and it appears that the Reds are the only club Newcastle United can sell to this summer.
While the Magpies have maintained all summer that they are not selling Isak, the player’s desire to leave for a more competitive club is damning and perhaps the only reason they would sell.
He scored 23 goals last season – hitting 20 in the Premier League for the second successive campaign – and Liverpool believe he is the talisman they need for the long term.
Mohamed Salah has two years on his new Liverpool deal and assuming he leaves in 2027, Arne Slot will need a top goalscorer to carry the attacking burden Salah has shouldered since 2017.
While there have been reports that Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Hilal are keen to sign Isak, it’s not a move that would have any benefit for Newcastle even if they paid over £150m.
Newcastle United cannot sell Alexander Isak to Al-Hilal due to conflict of interest – leaving Liverpool as their only option
Much like with Liverpool and Philippe Coutinho in 2018, Newcastle have a world class player with several years left on his contract that wants to leave for what he believes is a more competitive project.
And much like Liverpool back then, it’s a potential chance to inject even more quality into the side with the funds that would be raised. Of course, the difference is that Newcastle would be selling to a club they view as rivals while Liverpool sold Coutinho to an overseas side.
Yet, it now seems as though Liverpool are the only option for Newcastle if they do sell.
According to Chris Weatherspoon, football finance reporter for the Athletic, selling Isak to Al-Hilal – over Liverpool – would actually be a much worse outcome in terms of PSR compliance.
Weatherspoon reports: “The ramifications of a move to Saudi Arabia would be even worse on the continental stage.
“Under UEFA rules, player sales between related parties — which Newcastle and Al Hilal are — have to be measured at zero profit (or a loss), just as Allan Saint-Maximin’s move to Al Ahli in July 2023 was.
“Isak could be sold to Al Hilal for £150m and Newcastle would enjoy the cash, but under UEFA rules, they’d be disallowed from booking any profit — thus doing nothing to improve their ability to remain compliant on the European stage.”
“The ramifications of a move to Saudi Arabia would be even worse on the continental stage. Under UEFA rules, player sales between related parties — which Newcastle and Al Hilal are — have to be measured at zero profit (or a loss), just as Allan…
— ? (@LFCApproved) July 25, 2025
