Striker informed the club he wants to explore a move away from St James’s Park this summer
Newcastle United defender Dan Burn has said the squad would be disappointed to lose Alexander Isak amid interest from Liverpool.
Isak did not travel with the Newcastle team on their pre-season tour of Singapore and South Korea, officially due to a minor thigh issue.
However, sources said the player had asked not to go due to uncertainty surrounding his future. The Sweden international is understood to have informed the club he wants to explore a move away from St James’s Park this summer.
Liverpool are perhaps the only serious contenders if Newcastle decide to sell. The Premier League champions approached Newcastle earlier this month and proposed a deal in the region of £120m for Isak. However, it was rejected by the Magpies.
Reports indicate that an offer in the region of £150m could force Newcastle to consider their stance, although it is not clear if Liverpool would be willing to do a deal, having gone and signed Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee that could rise to £79m.
Nevertheless, Burn said the prospect of losing a player like Isak would hit the squad hard.
“If we lost any player it would upset our tight-knit group that’s been together for two or three years now,” said Burn.
“Any player that leaves, it doesn’t help but from our point of view we’re just going to control what we can control.
“It’s a question for Alex to answer. He’s obviously a big player for us, but we do have a lot of quality in the squad as well. Bringing Anthony [Elanga] in as well, which I think was a great signing.”
Captain Bruno Guimaraes played down the idea that a transfer is imminent, insisting Isak’s absence is purely down to injury.
“We want to keep our best players, and what I want to say is that I don’t know what anyone has seen but for us he’s not here because he’s injured,” said Guimaraes.
“He’s a top striker. His last three seasons speak for themselves. A top player. But as much as I know is he’s stayed at home because of his injury.”
The captain added: “It’s not for me to speak about him. It’s something the club will take care of.”
