Alexander Isak's mistake has cost him as Liverpool negotiations 'wouldn't have been a problem'

Alexander Isak's costly transfer mistake has been laid bare as the striker looks set to miss out on his dream Liverpool move. Isak's future has been up in the air this summer, with the 25-year-old striker pushing to join the Premier League champions.

The saga has turned toxic, with Isak initially being left out of the Magpies' pre-season tour of Asia before Liverpool's £110million bid for him was rejectedearlier this month. Following that, it was reported that the Swede had told the club he wanted to leave, which led to him training alone and being absent from Newcastle's Premier Leagueopener against Aston Villa.

On the night of the Professional Footballers' Association awards gala, which Isak didn't attend, he released a bombshell statement, saying "promises have been broken" and "trust has been lost" between the club and player.

READ MORE: Newcastle co-owner holds showdown talks with Alexander Isak at striker's home

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Newcastle responded with a statement of their own, voicing their "disappointment", but crucially insisting that Isak would be welcomed back to the first team fold whenever he was "ready to rejoin his team-mates". As of yet, that does not appear to be the case.

Isak was unsurprisingly not involved in Monday night's fiery Premier League clash between Newcastle and Liverpool at St James' Park, which the Reds won 3-2 in the dying seconds despite a valiant comeback from Eddie Howe's 10-man side. Isak's absence hasn't earned him any favours with his former supporters, who have labelled him "greedy" in chants this season.

But according to a report on Sunday Supplement, the entire transfer stand-off between club and player could have been avoided this summer if the forward had pursued his move differently.

The report claims that Isak could have outlined his reasons for wanting to leave at the start of the summer instead of waiting until August, by which time Liverpool had already signed Newcastle's favoured potential replacement, Hugo Ekitike. Publicly thanking the Magpies supporters and staff could have also gone a long way.

It is reported that Newcastle were open to letting him leave and looked to explore the conditions of his sale. That was, firstly, two players being brought in and, secondly, an acceptable transfer fee with Liverpool being negotiated.

But the conditions of sale haven't been met as Newcastle have not brought in two players, and the club will not leave themselves short with just a few days left in the summer transfer window.

Newcastle had lined up several players as potential replacements in the event that Isak left, all of whom have joined rival clubs. Joao Pedro was one such target, with the Magpies having seen a £50m bid turned downfor the Brazilian, before Chelsea swooped in with a better offer to secure his signature.

The Blues also successfully signed another of Howe's targets, Liam Delap, who preferred to join the Stamford Bridge side. Newcastle then turned their attention to Eintracht Frankfurt's Ekitike, also being pursued by Liverpool, despite their interest in Isak.

Newcastle fell short in that race too, reportedly seeing a £70m bid rejected as the Frenchman joined his preferred club in a £79m transfer. Following that, Magpies bosses raced to sign Benjamin Sesko, making a second bid worth £69.7m before the Slovenian chose Manchester United.

On Monday night, prior to the Liverpool fixture, Newcastle chiefsheld clear-the-air talks with their wantaway talisman in a last-gasp attempt to convince him to stay.

According toMailOnline, Newcastle co-owner Jamie Reuben and a PIF delegation held the talks at Isak's Northumberland home in an effort to smooth things over. It is suggested that a new contract would potentially be at the heart of discussions, should Isak promise to stay.

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