Gary Lineker raises Alexander Isak suspicion in nightmare Newcastle transfer scenario

Gary Lineker has raised the possibility of the Alexander Isak saga dragging on until January to extend Newcastle United's transfer nightmare. The Swedish striker continues to hold firm over his refusal to play for the Magpies as he angles for a move to Liverpool, who have seen a solitary £110million bid rejected.

Newcastle have also dug their heels in, insisting Isak is not for sale, although they could cash in if the Premier League champions can get closer to their £150m valuation. The transfer soap opera is undermining their hopes of signing a forward, with head coach Eddie Howe being forced to field players out of position in the absence of his star No. 9.

Crunch time is approaching for all parties, with the transfer window slamming shut at 7pm next Monday. Magpies legend Alan Shearer says the matter must be settled one way or the other by the weekend, but Lineker suspects it could run and run.

Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Shearer said: “It has to be resolved [before the weekend]; they can’t go through until next Monday. It’s just been going on and on.

"I know the chairman (Yasir Al-Rumayyan) was in Newcastle last night (Monday). My guess would be, something has to be sorted in the next two or three days. It can’t drag on until the weekend. One way or the other, it has to be resolved, it really does.”

Lineker is not convinced the deadline will signal the end of the row, though. He theorised: “I’ve got a feeling it might go to the wire. I can’t see Isak changing his tune, and it has to come from him [for him to play for Newcastle again], unless there’s a deal done. If there’s a deal done, it will obviously work out before.

“But if it stays as a stalemate, it goes to the end of the window. Then if nothing happens… because it’s not easy getting a transfer over the line anyway, particularly one with these complications and the amount of money involved.

“If they don’t, then it will drift on to January, I guess, which is no good for anyone, unless Isak changes his tune when he realises he can’t play for a few months.”

Newcastle chiefs met with Isak in an attempt to resolve the situation. Howe wasn’t part of those talks but is running out of patience. Speaking of his side’s 3-2 home defeat to Liverpool , he said: “I’ve not been party to talks on this for a long time now.

“I’ve been preparing the team and giving all my energy to the players that want to play for Newcastle. I think that is where my energy is best put at the moment.

“We want clarity, we want to move forward, we want the narrative to change because we’re in the start of the season now. We’re into the action and we’ve got to get results, and we’ve got to try to focus on what we can control.

"We’ve given two really, really good performances, we’ve ended up with one point. That’s tough for us to take, especially in this moment where you’re looking for positives to cling to. But we battle through and we now go on to Leeds [on Saturday].”

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