Liverpool agree British record £125m fee for Isak

Liverpool have agreed a British transfer record fee of £125m to sign striker Alexander Isak from Newcastle United.

Sources close to the deal have told BBC Sport that an agreement for the Sweden international to move to Anfield is now in place.

Newcastle sources claim the deal could be worth as much as £130m with add-ons.

Isak is expected to have a medical on Monday before signing a six-year contract.

Liverpool had an original £110m offer rejected in August but are now set to land their first-choice target of the summer.

The protracted saga involving the 25-year-old appears set to come to an end on the final day of the transfer window, and it follows Newcastle having signed striker Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart last week.

Liverpool have already broken their club transfer record this summer by signing Germany attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz in a deal worth an initial £100m, with a further £16m in add-ons.

Isak’s arrival would top that outlay. After also bringing in Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Armin Pecsi and Giovanni Leoni, the deal would take the club’s spending to about £416m without add-on fees.

Liverpool could still add to the spree, with the Reds working on a deal to sign England defender Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace.

Meanwhile, the departures of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Jarell Quansah, Caoimhin Kelleher, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Tyler Morton and Ben Doak have recouped an initial amount of about £190m.

Isak, who joined Newcastle in a £60m move from La Liga side Real Sociedad in 2022, scored 27 goals in 42 appearances across all competitions last season.

He helped the Magpies win the Carabao Cup in March – scoring as Newcastle beat Liverpool in the final – and they went on to qualify for the Champions League by finishing fifth in the Premier League.

Earlier this summer, Isak was left out of the Magpies’ squad for their pre-season tour of Asia with what the club described as a “minor thigh injury”, while it was understood he wanted to explore a move away.

He then trained alone at his former club Sociedad before Liverpool’s initial bid for him was knocked back by Newcastle.

Amid continued speculation about his future, Isak released a statement in which he said promises had been “broken” by Newcastle and that their “relationship can’t continue”.

BBC Sport understands Isak believed he would be allowed to leave if a big club came in for him and offered the right price.

Newcastle said that “no commitment has ever been made by a club official that Alex can leave Newcastle United this summer”.

However, a move has now been agreed after Isak remained on the sidelines and missed their opening three league games, which included a 3-2 defeat by Liverpool at St James’ Park.

Liverpool’s move for Isak would be one of football’s biggest deals if completed.

In terms of the British transfer record, it would overtake the £107m Chelsea paid Benfica for Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez in 2023.

Wirtz, Moises Caicedo, Declan Rice and Jack Grealish all moved for initial fees of £100m.

With add-ons, the Wirtz deal could become the biggest of those, while Caicedo’s move from Brighton to Chelsea in 2023 may end up costing £115m and Rice’s switch from West Ham to Arsenal in the same year could reach £105m.

On a global scale, Isak’s potential move to the Reds is set to come in third when based on initial fees.

The two most expensive moves in football are Paris St-Germain’s signings of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. The French club spent £200m in bringing in Neymar from Barcelona in 2017. Mbappe joined in the same year, initially on loan, in what became a £165.7m permanent deal.

The Isak transfer could rank behind those but above moves involving Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Demble.

Coutinho joined Barcelona from Liverpool in January 2018 in a £142m package which was worth an initial £105m, while the Spanish club paid Borussia Dortmund an initial £96.8m for Dembele in the previous window, with the fee potentially rising to £135.5m.

25 May – Alexander Isak finishes 2024-25 season as Newcastle’s top scorer with 27 goals in 42 appearances.

19 July – Newcastle boss Eddie Howe says Isak will “absolutely” be on the club’s pre-season tour of the Far East after the Swede missed a 4-0 friendly defeat by Celtic with a thigh injury.

23 July – Liverpool sign striker Hugo Ekitike – who had been linked with Newcastle – in £69m deal from Eintracht Frankfurt.

24 July – Isak is left out of Newcastle’s squad for their pre-season tour with a “minor thigh injury”.

24 July – Isak expresses desire to explore move away from Newcastle.

28 July – Sources tell BBC Sport that Liverpool remain keen on signing Isak, despite the arrival of Ekitike.

31 July – Isak trains alone at his former club Real Sociedad.

1 August – Newcastle reject Liverpool’s opening £110m offer for the Sweden international and it is suggested the Reds may not continue their interest.

4 August – Isak returns to Newcastle training ground but told to train away from the first-team squad.

8 August – Howe says it is “clear” he “can’t involve” Isak at Newcastle as things stand.

16 August – Isak not part of matchday squad as Newcastle held at Aston Villa in Premier League opener.

19 August – Isak says promises have been “broken” by Newcastle and “the relationship can’t continue”, but club say “no commitment has ever been made” to Isak.

30 August – Newcastle announce signing of striker Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart for initial £65m.

1 September – Liverpool agree £125m deal with Newcastle for Isak.