'I'm over Isak - I'm lining up Sesko'
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North Wales Chronicle
10 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Liverpool will not be held to ransom in pursuit of Alexander Isak
The PA news agency understands the Premier League champions remain keen on the 25-year-old Sweden international, who was made to train by himself on Tyneside on Wednesday after missing the Magpies' pre-season trip to Singapore and South Korea amid speculation over his future. However, as they await completion of Darwin Nunez's proposed 53million euros – around £46.3million – plus bonuses move to Saudi club Al Hilal, sources on Merseyside indicated they would not enter a bidding war as they sought a replacement. Liverpool's admiration of Isak, who scored what proved to be the winning goal against them in last season's Carabao Cup final at Wembley, is well known and they have already tabled a bid of around £110m, which was swiftly rejected. Newcastle have repeatedly insisted the Swede, for whom they paid Real Sociedad £63m during the summer of 2022, is simply not for sale and with three years remaining on his existing contract, they hold a strong position in one sense. However Isak, who signalled his intention to explore his options during the current transfer window, has so far resisted all overtures to sign a new, long-term deal at St James' Park and that appears to have encouraged the Anfield club that they may be able to prise him from head coach Eddie Howe's grasp. That said, the Reds are understood to have drawn up a series of criteria which will govern their pursuit of the former AIK Solna and Borussia Dortmund forward, or indeed alternative targets. Among them are an insistence that any replacement must be of the required quality, must represent fair market value and perhaps most importantly, must be realistically attainable. In that context, Newcastle's asking price of £150m – which was designed to ward off potential suitors – would seem a significant obstacle, as would their long-held stance on his availability, although there is little doubt that he would meet the quality requirement having scored 27 goals in all competitions last season. In addition, the Magpies' interest in RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko looks unlikely to come to fruition with Manchester United confident they are in the driving seat, complicating the search for a credible replacement with Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson having being touted as an option. Newcastle were already in the market for a striker following Callum Wilson's departure at the end of last season, but plugging the gap left by a man around whom Howe would ideally want to build his team, during a summer which has already proved intensely difficult, would be both difficult and expensive. The alternative is to persuade Isak that his future remains at St James' at least in the short term – there is little doubt that his head has been turned – and that is a task which would take all his manager's estimable powers. It remains to be seen whether or not Liverpool will increase their offer for the player if and when the Nunez deal is finalised. They will bank a significant proportion of the 75m euros – around £65.4m – plus bonuses they paid Benfica for the 26-year-old Uruguay international in June 2022, having rebuffed advances from Saudi Arabia in January and Napoli, who are understood not to have met the club's valuation and to have wanted to pay the fee over five years, this summer.
The Independent
10 minutes ago
- The Independent
Enzo Maresca shares plan for promising Brazilian teenager following transfer
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has called for restraint from supporters regarding the highly anticipated arrival of Brazilian prodigy Estevao Willian. The 18-year-old's £29 million transfer from Palmeiras was initially agreed in May 2024, but he remained in Brazil for a year, even finding the net against his new club during a Club World Cup encounter in the United States in July. Having netted 27 goals and provided 15 assists across 83 appearances for Palmeiras, Estevao finally completed his move to west London this week. Widely regarded as one of Brazil 's most promising young talents, Maresca is keen to ensure that expectations surrounding Estevao are tempered ahead of the upcoming season. 'We need to pay a little bit more attention, because first of all he's from the other part of the world and also he's very, very young,' he said. 'So we need to pay attention. 'As I said, (he is) not under pressure, give him happiness, give him time, he needs to adapt. Hopefully we can give him minutes, so he's even more happy. But for sure, he's a talented player. 'For me, the biggest mistake we can do with him is to put him under pressure. He's very young, he needs to adapt. 'I met him for the first time in the USA when we played against Palmeiras. He's a fantastic player, he's very young, he's a happy boy. He's always laughing, typical from a Brazilian guy, and we need to keep him happy.' Estevao is one of six summer signings expected to be part of Maresca's squad this season. And with 10 departures it has been another summer of change at the club's Cobham training base. Maresca has previously said he expects players to be able to play in a number of roles and wants at least two players for each position. Nominally a winger, Estevao is likely to be deployed across Chelsea's attacking line. 'He can play everywhere,' said Maresca. 'He's so good. For me, he's like Cole (Palmer), in terms of – careful – he is like Cole in terms of his position. 'He can play outside, he can play inside, he can play everywhere. In our five attacking positions, for me, he can play everywhere.' Maresca confirmed that defender Levi Colwill is a doubt for the start of the new Premier League season. The Blues kick off at home to Crystal Palace on August 17 but after picking up a knock in training the 22-year-old could miss out, possibly opening the door to new defensive signing from Ajax, Jorrel Hato. 'We had a problem the last two days with Levi Colwill, that we don't know how long he is going to be out,' said Maresca. 'So for us, we will see, hopefully not too long, but for sure it's a problem for us. We need to wait, we don't know yet.'
Glasgow Times
10 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Liverpool will not be held to ransom in pursuit of Alexander Isak
The PA news agency understands the Premier League champions remain keen on the 25-year-old Sweden international, who was made to train by himself on Tyneside on Wednesday after missing the Magpies' pre-season trip to Singapore and South Korea amid speculation over his future. However, as they await completion of Darwin Nunez's proposed 53million euros – around £46.3million – plus bonuses move to Saudi club Al Hilal, sources on Merseyside indicated they would not enter a bidding war as they sought a replacement. Alexander Isak scored what proved to be Newcastle's winning goal against Liverpool in last season's Carabao Cup final (Owen Humphreys/PA) Liverpool's admiration of Isak, who scored what proved to be the winning goal against them in last season's Carabao Cup final at Wembley, is well known and they have already tabled a bid of around £110m, which was swiftly rejected. Newcastle have repeatedly insisted the Swede, for whom they paid Real Sociedad £63m during the summer of 2022, is simply not for sale and with three years remaining on his existing contract, they hold a strong position in one sense. However Isak, who signalled his intention to explore his options during the current transfer window, has so far resisted all overtures to sign a new, long-term deal at St James' Park and that appears to have encouraged the Anfield club that they may be able to prise him from head coach Eddie Howe's grasp. That said, the Reds are understood to have drawn up a series of criteria which will govern their pursuit of the former AIK Solna and Borussia Dortmund forward, or indeed alternative targets. Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe (left) faces the task of trying to persuade Alexander Isak that his future remains on Tyneside (John Walton/PA) Among them are an insistence that any replacement must be of the required quality, must represent fair market value and perhaps most importantly, must be realistically attainable. In that context, Newcastle's asking price of £150m – which was designed to ward off potential suitors – would seem a significant obstacle, as would their long-held stance on his availability, although there is little doubt that he would meet the quality requirement having scored 27 goals in all competitions last season. In addition, the Magpies' interest in RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko looks unlikely to come to fruition with Manchester United confident they are in the driving seat, complicating the search for a credible replacement with Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson having being touted as an option. Newcastle were already in the market for a striker following Callum Wilson's departure at the end of last season, but plugging the gap left by a man around whom Howe would ideally want to build his team, during a summer which has already proved intensely difficult, would be both difficult and expensive. Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez is close to completing a move to Saudi club Al Hilal (Peter Byrne/PA) The alternative is to persuade Isak that his future remains at St James' at least in the short term – there is little doubt that his head has been turned – and that is a task which would take all his manager's estimable powers. It remains to be seen whether or not Liverpool will increase their offer for the player if and when the Nunez deal is finalised. They will bank a significant proportion of the 75m euros – around £65.4m – plus bonuses they paid Benfica for the 26-year-old Uruguay international in June 2022, having rebuffed advances from Saudi Arabia in January and Napoli, who are understood not to have met the club's valuation and to have wanted to pay the fee over five years, this summer.
