Liverpool have been granted the green light to swoop for Alexander Isak of Newcastle United.
The Swede was notable in his absence on Monday night, as Liverpool beat Newcastle 3-2 in the dying embers of a frenetic meeting between the two at St. James' Park, in which the Magpies battled valiantly but lost to a last-gasp Rio Ngumoha goal.
With Sky Sports pundit and Reds one-club man Jamie Carragher admitting on Monday Night Football that the situation is untenable on Tyneside and that Isak will have to leave, another bid is now in the works.
Liverpool set to complete a move for Alexander Isak from Newcastle United, following major €90m deal
Liverpool's first offer for Isak – ranked at no.4 in FourFourTwo's list of the best strikers in the world right now – was around £120 million, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
After this was rejected though, it was always believed that the Merseysiders would return to the table, with Newcastle struggling to source a replacement centre-forward.
Now, Newcastle transfer expert Craig Hope has written a report in the Mail that says that the Toon have agreed a deal with Stuttgart for well-regarded German forward Nick Woltemade.
German journalist Florian Plettenberg, meanwhile, has claimed in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the deal is already “done” – though FourFourTwo would be hesitant to state that the move is tied up, given the Magpies' drama in the transfer market this summer.
The 23-year-old was named in the Germany squad for the 2025 European Under-21 Championship, and impressed at the tournament, netting a hat-trick in Germany's 3–0 group victory against Slovenia.
Hope states that Woltemade is heading to the north-east of England for a medical, in a deal worth £65m, amid interest in two Premier League forwards, in the shape of Yoane Wissa and Jorgen Strand Larsen.
Either move for Wissa or Strand Larsen may yet come to fruition, with the Toon still needing to replace Callum Wilson in their squad, too.
Woltemade is worth €30m, according to Transfermarkt.
Newcastle are signing a physical forward who will thrive off their midfield, says FourFourTwo's youth football expert, Joe Donnohue
Woltemade is a physical anomaly. Standing at 6ft 6in, he’s effective in the air, but also very adept at beating his man on the ground. Use him as a target for long balls and clearances or use him to play alongside a more conventional forward in a surprisingly fluid big man-little man combo.
He’s gangly, a bit clunkier than Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike, but his penalty box presence is superb, demonstrated at this summer’s U21 Euros, and thrives off the type of midfield profile Newcastle have in abundance: runners.
