The China Mail - Liverpool agree Isak deal with Newcastle for British record fee: reports

The Swedish forward is set to join the Reds in a deal worth about £130 million ($176 million), according to reports by The Athletic and The Telegraph, among other outlets.

The Athletic reported that Isak will undergo a medical on Monday before completing a six-year deal with the Merseyside club.

The fee will set a new Premier League transfer record, exceeding the £106 million that Chelsea paid Benfica for Enzo Fernandez in 2023, the reports said.

Isak, 25, scored 23 goals in the Premier League last season -- behind only Liverpool's Mohamed Salah -- as Newcastle qualified for the Champions League.

He has been the subject of a protracted and acrimonious transfer saga this summer, training away from the rest of the Newcastle squad after making clear his desire to move to Liverpool.

Newcastle reportedly rejected an initial £110 million bid for Isak earlier this summer.

But the deal edged closer after the Magpies signed German international striker Nick Woltemade on Saturday for a club-record fee reported to be worth up to £69 million.

Isak will become the latest blockbuster acquisition in a lavish summer spending spree by Liverpool, who also brought in German midfielder Florian Wirtz in another massive deal.

The Reds have also signed French attacker Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt, Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen and Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth.

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe had hinted for the first time on Friday he might be open to allowing Isak to leave because of the impact a sale would have on Newcastle's profit and sustainability calculations.

The northeast club were forced to sell Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh last year in order to avoid a points deduction, and a sizeable return on their investment in Isak would ease any Profit and Sustainability Regulations concerns.

Despite the influx of new talent Liverpool have not so far looked like the relentless team that strolled to the Premier League title last season with four games to spare.

But they still top the table with three wins from three after dispatching last year's runners-up, Arsenal, 1-0 at Anfield on Sunday.

Newcastle sit 17th in the early running after a 0-0 stalemate against Leeds United.

O.Tse--ThChM