Liverpool have agreed a British record £125m fee with Newcastle United for striker Alexander Isak, in one of the most high-profile transfers of the summer window. Sources suggest the deal could rise to £130m with add-ons, surpassing Chelsea’s £107m signing of Enzo Fernandez in 2023.
The 25-year-old Sweden international is expected to undergo a medical on Monday before signing a six-year contract at Anfield. Liverpool had an initial £110m offer rejected in August but have now secured their first-choice target on deadline day.
Newcastle prepared for the sale by completing the £65m signing of striker Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart last week. Isak, who scored 27 goals in 42 appearances for Newcastle last season, had been unsettled in recent weeks and was excluded from the club’s Premier League opener against Aston Villa.
The signing comes during a summer of record investment at Anfield. Liverpool have already broken their club transfer record with the £100m capture of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, a deal that could rise to £116m with add-ons. They have also added Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Armin Pecsi and Giovanni Leoni. With Isak included, total spending is now around £416m, before additional fees.
Outgoing transfers have raised about £190m, with Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Caoimhin Kelleher and Jarell Quansah among those to depart.
Globally, the deal for Isak would rank third in world football when measured by initial fee. Only Paris St-Germain’s signings of Neymar for £200m and Kylian Mbappe for £165.7m stand higher. It would place above the £142m package that took Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool to Barcelona in 2018 and Ousmane Dembele’s £135.5m move to Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund in 2017.
The transfer saga has unfolded over the summer. On 24 July, Isak was left out of Newcastle’s pre-season tour citing a thigh injury, while Liverpool had a £110m bid rejected on 1 August. On 19 August, Isak said “promises have been broken” and made clear his desire to leave. On 30 August, Newcastle announced the signing of Woltemade, and on 1 September Liverpool reached agreement on the £125m deal.