Liverpool midfielder agrees to quit Reds for Newcastle amid Alexander Isak transfer row
There may be an ongoing tussle between Liverpool and Newcastle over the future of Alexander Isak, but a Reds youngster is heading to Tyneside after a rejecting a new deal on Merseyside.
Isak has become the biggest story of the summer transfer window as the Swede has been exiled by Newcastle and remains desperate to join the reigning Premier League champions.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has been forced to address speculation about Isak's future every day in recent weeks, and Liverpool have now raised more funds for a potential new bid for Isak by selling Darwin Nunez to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal.
But a world away from the multi-millions involved in that deal, 16-year-old Reds midfielder Isaac Moran has opted to leave Liverpool's academy and make the move to Newcastle.
A former England youth captain, Moran was promoted from Liverpool's under-16s to their under -18s for the final three matches of last season, playing the full 90 minutes in games against Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Sunderland.
But he will now be leaving for the Mackems' north-east rivals Newcastle after turning down a scholarship contract on offer at Liverpool.
Moran, who is represented by ex-Reds vice-captainTrent Alexander-Arnold's PLG Agency, posted on Instagram to confirm his decision to leave the Reds.
Alongside a series of images showing his rise through the ranks as a youngster, a coaching session with Jurgen Klopp and a picture of him working as a ballboy when Mohamed Salah scored in last season's title-clinching game against Tottenham, Moran wrote: 'I have made the tough decision to leave Liverpool Football Club.
'I want it to be known that this decision was not taken lightly and I have been honoured to represent the club, but I believe it's best for my career and future opportunities to go elsewhere.
'I would like to thank all of my teammates, coaches and staff for all their hard work over these past 10 years, in not only shaping me to be the footballer I am, but most importantly the person I am today. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you. YNWA.'
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Guardian writers' predicted position: 7th (NB: this is not necessarily Louise Taylor's prediction but the average of our writers' tips) Last season's position: 5th A Champions League campaign beckons and there is the Carabao Cup to defend but the removal of Alexander Isak's image from the windows of Newcastle's club store at St James' Park is emblematic of a troubled Tyneside summer. As if the Sweden striker's decision to skip the club's tour of Singapore and South Korea while trying to force a move to Liverpool was not bad enough, a succession of transfer targets have turned Newcastle down. Hugo Ekitiké, Bryan Mbeumo, João Pedro, James Trafford and Benjamin Sesko opted to move to Liverpool, London or Manchester as the majority Saudi Arabian-owned club operated without a sporting director and chief executive. 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Despite the gargantuan wealth of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Newcastle's relatively skinny commercial revenue streams dictate their spending is restricted by Premier League profitability and sustainability rules. Fans, and some players, are frustrated by the Saudis' failure to deliver a new training ground, and a decision as to whether to revamp St James' Park or build a new stadium keeps being postponed. It does not help that the club have spent the past 11 months seeking a new chief executive after the outgoing Darren Eales's blood cancer diagnosis and have been without a sporting director this summer in the wake of Paul Mitchell's abrupt exit in June, after less than a year in the job. Since the ousting of the former minority owner Amanda Staveley and her husband, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, last summer the lack of an Arabist and/or an executive conversant with Saudi business culture in Newcastle's UK hierarchy has created an apparent disconnect. 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After breaking into Newcastle's first team during the 2023-24 campaign, a 6ft 2in player with an eye for goal, equally at home in a defensive or attacking midfield role, was restricted to 14 appearances last season. If a back injury was partly responsible, the best youngster to emerge from Newcastle's academy for a very long time faced stiff completion from Tonali, Guimarães and Joelinton for a starting spot in Howe's midfield trinity. The demands of a Champions League campaign should create more opportunities this term when Miley can show he is capable of providing real competition for Guimarães and co. At 27 Aaron Ramsdale has suffered three relegations from the Premier League (with Bournemouth, Sheffield United and Southampton), been bought by Arsenal for £30m and won five England caps. He joins on loan from Southampton and will compete with Nick Pope for a starting place. Howe, Ramsdale's old Bournemouth manager, admires his footwork and regards his former protege as the sort of goalkeeper needed to advance Newcastle's stylistic evolution. But is Ramsdale really a better all-round keeper than Pope? Can he recapture the form that once made him Arsenal's first choice? And can he assuage Newcastle's disappointment at seeing Manchester City hijack their move for Trafford, the gifted former Burnley goalkeeper?
