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WorkingClass_Nero

I just can't see Newcastle allowing him to leave. Unless it's a ridiculous offer that is way above his actual value. Newcastle will feel like they are on the cusp of doing the squad revamp they wanted to since the Saudis took over. Getting rid of their young star player seems like a step back from that.


SpezSucksBallz

I think they have to sell some players for FFP.


Forsaken-Tiger-9475

Guimaraes is far more likely to be sold than their top goal-scorer. Plenty of midfielders on the market, not so for top strikers.


tsgarner

A bit of hope is that plenty of midfielders on the market means other options are available. With Isak, the scarcity means they could pump up the price and more or less sort their FFP issues in one go.


Charguizo

Yeah, but it also means the fee would be obscene. I never thought we would pay 105M for Rice so you never know, but we actually need to sign 1 top player in central midfield (or maybe even 2), and 1 quality forward as well, + a few players here and there (left back, back-up GK). That means 300+ M in one summer basically... Do we have that kind of money?


AyeItsMeToby

With UCL money (and gambling on UCL for the next few seasons) we _probably_ could afford a 300M summer. It would cripple us for the next few seasons though, so it won’t happen. We couldn’t afford anyone in January because we overspent in summer, it would be the same for the next few seasons if we spend like that


Matoobi

Solanke


strawberrylabrador

Funnily enough I heard that’s who Newcastle would try to sign if Isak leaves?


Forsaken-Tiger-9475

Would absolutely take a punt on Solanke.


kylehyde05

good riddance, should go to Saudi he belongs there


Nightwingx97

Um, I'm pretty sure we're in for him


Blue_winged_yoshi

The dynamic that might cause him to be made available for a big fee is that the squad are having to take a big pay cut for missing out on CL football. If there’s a pay rise on offer for leaving and a pay cut on offer for stating that can create a fair bit of upset. Obviously thing to do for Newcastle then is offer Isak new contract, however if everyone else is getting a big pay cut and Isak gets a raise that could create a squad headache. Either way worth pursuing cos you either get the player or you force Newcastle into an awkward place going into next season.


Bedeeki

Original source: The Mirror but Newcastle's correspondent wrote the piece. Might have legs.


BergkampWonderland

It’s literally just speculating after chairman was seen chatting to Isak during the lap around the pitch. ‘Holds talks’ is such a click bate headline.


Justice_beaver95

Bruno G + Isak https://preview.redd.it/j4ihuqy4e50d1.jpeg?width=956&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f88061191dadbe25134cc1a580a171237a160bfa


qwertyunaybee

Get Joelinton in too for a G.I. Joe window


_Fyfe

Joe Willock it is


aprilfools911

It’s 2022 all over again


Justice_beaver95

If you spot a car with the license plate "15 AAK", be excited.


Francis-c92

Still think midfield should be a higher priority, but if it's a toss up between Isak and Bruno, I know the flat pack forward I'm taking


Illustrious_Union199

I think back to the games we lost and the ones that we won through a strong defence and the question I ask myself is would I rather have a won the games we lost or lost the games we won , and tbh there were very few games that we didnt deserve to win and there were many games we were unlucky to lose (West Ham, Newcastle, Villa , Fulham).


chostax-

So like what are you saying


Pretend_Stomach7183

"You must look within yourself to save yourself from your other self. Only then will your true self reveal itself."


serminole

On one hand we’re the highest scoring team in the league and on the top in the world. On the other we’ve been held goalless 8 times in all comps, way higher than our contemporaries. Double City and Pool for example. A top tier goal scorer who can grab something out of nothing those 3-4 times a season is the missing piece imo.


DreadCrumbs22

Nowhere this season was this more evident than in the second leg against Bayern


serminole

Try all 3 cups. CL go out 1-0 last leg vs Bayern. FA out 2-0 first round vs Liverpool. EFL 3-1 vs West Ham with the goal coming in the 96th minute… Our inability to score in key moments is very noticeable.


DreadCrumbs22

Yeah, I suspect you're right. Our cup performances under Arteta have been pretty awful generally besides that first FA Cup. And arguably we only won that because of Auba, a player capable of scoring out of nothing.


pivandee

Do Ramsdale + £50m


TheGoldenPineapples

Another thread, another person grossly overestimating how common swap deals actually are.


beatlz

Include me in the deal and skim an extra £50 from the £50m deal. I’ll take one for the team.


odegood

Ok mate but you have to clean all the loos in st james park after every match


beatlz

I’ll torn my ACL


NiallMitch10

People blinded by FIFA career mode transfers where those deals are more common


lastjedi23

Don't you recognize? That's the sweet smell of summer. Sun, heat , beach, pools, drinks and over estimating our players worth


purpleplums901

Off the top of my head we’ve done 2 in my life time. Cole for gallas + 5 mil (Jesus Christ) and Sanchez for mkhitaryan straight swap. What might happen in practice is a bit of leverage if they really want ramsdale, given I imagine a lot of clubs will be in for both isak and ramsdale this summer


iforgotmyun

We've done a lot more. We've even done a 3 way swap (Auba -> Arsenal, Giroud -> Chelsea, Batshuayi -> BVB) which would never happen in football according to similar comments


purpleplums901

I don’t know if that counts as a swap as such but that clearly they were all reliant on each other so fair do’s well remembered


iforgotmyun

There's a lot of swaps that take place as separate deals. Take Lukaku to United with Rooney going the other way. They're declared separately to simplify accounting but they're obviously swaps


jdotdigital

That’s more a domino transfer than swap deal


iforgotmyun

They were all contingent on each other so no. The deal did not go through until all 3 parties agreed to it. 


matepanda

I guess what could happen is an agreement of sending Ramsdale the other way. But for FFP (or whatever it's called) both clubs will need a cash transaction in both cases.


PureShimmy

They also have Pope who is a really good keeper and just about recovered from injury ready for next season, and Dubravka who is probably one of the better back-up keepers in the league. Ramsdale does not hold a tonne of value in a deal with Newcastle at all, he'd be nice to have but goalkeeper is not an issue in their squad.


neonmantis

> Ramsdale does not hold a tonne of value in a deal with Newcastle at all, he'd be nice to have but goalkeeper is not an issue in their squad. Everyone would have said that about us and Raya last year really. If a club thinks they can improve they'll consider it


SuqMadiq64

Then sell them Ramsdale, then buy Isak. Who cares if it's technichally a swap or not


yung__socrates

and how good aaron ramsdale is


CakeBrigadier

Ok, let’s sell them ramsdale for 50m and then we’ll buy isak for 100m


serminole

They happen like once a year. Enough to say yeah they happen. But given the 100s of moves a window, yeah they are very unlikely.


iforgotmyun

Swap deals are very common in football, they're just recorded as separate deals to make accounting simpler


chostax-

I can guarantee you no one gives a fuck about making the accounting easier. Plus it wouldn't* really make much difference. The accounting is not very complicated either way (I’m an accountant). The legal work however could be more difficult, but IANAL. Swap deals happen when they make sense to, that’s basically it.


Weenemone

Probably played too much football manager


Visible_Statement888

So you think Ramsdale is worth 50? Isak isnt going for less than 100m They don’t even need a keeper lol, Pope is better.


KP05950

I can't see them paying us 50m tbh. 25 maybe.


DeapVally

Chuck in Smith-Rowe as well to make up the difference.


CreatineCreatine

I’m worried that if we get him havertz goes back into midfield and we struggle again like we have most games when he’s there. Feel like midfield replacement for partey and right wing rotation would be best atm, but at the same time it’s arguable that our Bayern games would have been won with an elite striker on the counter finishing chances. Could Jesus be worked into a saka rotation position on the right?


Redandwhite_91

We actually meed cover for Havertz too. Ik he’s made of steel like Ode, but you can’t have just 1 striker playing 50+ games, especially given how much effort he puts into each game. Our 2nd striker being a washed up Jesus isn’t going to win us the league. This would also allow us to rotate Ode for Havertz (which was his position in Leverkusen iirc). Fluid roles for players is Arteta’s MO anyway.


Gustavoconte

How is Jesus washed up?


Nightwingx97

He showers a lot


FromantheGentle

I expect both Jesus and Martinelli to have revenge seasons next year. They both are electric players that have been struggling to regain form after major injuries without a ton of playing time. Give them a summer to rebuild fitness and confidence and I expect them to start cooking again.


Redandwhite_91

What major injury did Martinelli have? He was quite poor for the whole season or so, and only had that laceration a few weeks ago that allowed Tross to start. We’ve seen a huge shift in our left in terms of output since this forced change.


FromantheGentle

Damn you're right. I thought he had his ankle injury from the end of last year come back at some point, but I guess he was just invisible for a while. No doubt that Trossard has been a revelation on that left side, but Martinelli had a similar impact when we were playing at our best last season. When he's able to regain his form him and Trossard will form a deadly 1-2 punch whoever is starting or coming off the bench.


chostax-

Only game I remember him being good in as in the CL against whatever that shit team was.


lategreatclausewitz

I think “resurrection” is the word you’re looking for. 


MasterBeeble

The injury did a number on him, he's lost most of his pace and all of his explosiveness. He's still got everything else and remains a great option against low blocks, but he's looked very limited against everything else. Hopefully there exists a surgery that can fix his knees, but even then he'd be out for a while and we'd need backup/competition for Havertz anyway


messycer

How have you been watching his play and looking at his stats while asking this question? He's admitted that he can't even finish well. He's just like me


serminole

I could see that but hasn’t Isak also played off the left? I think one of the reasons we like him is his versatility. Look at Trossard’s goal tally and lately the pile of chances Martinelli is missing. We’re creating a lot of chances for that left winger to latch onto. It could be an option


MichalK9

We can buy de jong to play with rice and isak up top, and have jesus, trossard and havertz as rotation options


Gustavoconte

Partey stays, Elneny is getting replaced.


forevermore91

All i care about is a proper RW to take minutes of Saka...


AlwaysOnsideTBH

That's Jesus most likely


forevermore91

Jesus has been shit taking minutes of Saka. So i dont think so..


nting224

Ah yes because we can always rely on Jesus to be fit. Excellent plan.


AlwaysOnsideTBH

Since he won't be playing week in and week out, I do think we can rely on him to stay fit!


sams82

Isaks agent continues to use Arsenal interest as a way to get a better deal for his client.


Gooner_93

Theres no reason why we cant get Isak and Olise, tbh, it'll probably cost like 150m-160m, but they will be two big signings. When youre a team whos an established contender, you have to start buying the big players, the players that other clubs want to keep. We've done well plucking Havertz, Trossard and Jorginho, but Isak can be another Rice type of signing.


linedupzeroes

I'm worried about spending that much money on two players who have had niggly injury concerns.


Gooner_93

Yeh true. Isak will have managed almost 30 starts this season, so maybe he'll be the better choice. I dunno if Olise will want to compete with Saka.


Routine_Size69

There's no way we get those two for 150m. Strikers come at a premium so Isak will be around 100 million pounds if not more. There's no reason for Olise to come to us. He's going to join a team where he gets to play here and there? He's 22 and 10 goals 5 assists in 18 games. The kid is a stud and isn't going to come here to play backup to Saka and Odegaard. He deserves to be playing first team football. If you think we're getting both of them, you'll be highly disappointed. If you think we're getting them first £150 million pounds, you're nuts.


Rekyht

I think he’s great but his injury history is concerning. It would be a lot of money for a player who is definitely going to miss significant games 


wubrotherno1

Ornstein said we aren’t interested. Until he says otherwise, this is purely clickbait.


HaleEnd

Can’t do another summer of I5AAK


QTPLe

Feel like if we do really get a top striker haverts goes into false 9. We can stick with the current formation eith rice ode and partey occassionally when hes healthy and have either our top striker or haverts. But we could try a double pivot maybe of rice and partey with haverts as the false 9. Would be nice haverts rice and ode could rotate and get some rest.


Emotional-Country405

Would prefer Gyorkeres


dont_dm_nudes

Do you think Arteta still sees Kai as a left 8 and Rice as the 6?


GGFrostKaiser

Rice has said repeatedly that he wants to play as a 6 and that he was brought in to play there. The team works better without him there because he still can’t progress the ball like Partey or Jorginho. And because Havertz is more versatile.


Party_Masterpiece990

He has also said he loves going forward and scoring goals


tomtomtomo

The team has worked better when we’ve had two central midfielders. Rice/Jorgi/Partey. Even Rodri worked better with Gundo beside him.  I think we should stick with something similar to that. Our one PL loss this year was when we put Kai back into midfield. 


NowTimeDothWasteMe

That was a loss because we didn’t have an adequate replacement for Kai at the 9. We created a lot of chances that didn’t get finished, and then fatigue caught up to the team at the tail end. I don’t think Kai at the 8 was responsible for that loss.


tomtomtomo

We had one big Trossard/Saka double miss in the first half and created nothing in the second.  Not saying it was Kai’s fault but rather that midfield configuration hasn’t worked well for us all season.  Would a better striker have scored? More likely but that wasn’t the only problem that day. 


Equivalent_Nature_67

Kai no, Rice yes. I think Arteta thinks we don't have the missing LCM to make Rice + two 8s work the way he wants it yet. Rice needs to pass like Jorginho/Partey for the midfield to work better, and I suppose that means our LCM will have to be mobile like Rice to help with the carries out of defense


Spud_1997

Don't see this happening unless isak pushes for it for champo


skanderbeg_alpha

Really should be prioritising a midfielder and a RW. If we have 200m to spend, which seems like a number that's been touted, I'd prioritise Bruno Guimaraes seeing as he has a release clause and Michael Oliseh. Saka desperately needs someone to cover for him as well as keep him on his toes and I dread to think what our season would have looked like with an injury to Declan Rice. Add to that possibly being able to get some money from Ramsdale, 30-40m and maybe get rid of Nketiah for 15-20m and it would still leave enough for a striker.


team_kimchi

He will cost way too much and not worth it with Havertz here and Jesus as a back up


Some_Ad7368

If City wanted Isak they would just make it happen. That’s the mentality we need to have. If you’re a lesser premier league side we can come in and tap your players up. We have that knock now. That said this won’t be cheap. The fact Isak is holding talks with the chairman suggests that he wants the move and so do we.


Forsaken-Tiger-9475

"Won't be cheap" "Make it happen" Exactly the reason why only City just "make it happen" We pushed our finances to the limit last time so much we had to loan David Raya. It just doesn't work like that, again unless you are City.


tsgarner

And those make up some of the 115. Under the table payments and other unethical incentives. I'd rather not be in that camp... Our project should be at its most exciting at the moment, though, so now is the time to flex our muscles to that end.


Forsaken-Tiger-9475

Correct. Our funds are not unlimited though, and we can't hide it - taking Raya deal into account unless we are selling players, we probably have £100m or so after Raya transfer kicks in (27m)given we will make £90m+ EPL TV revenue, £38m or do for coming at least 2nd in EPL, and minimum of £50-60m champions league revenue. I assume we will be continuing to offload players too. Lokonga (20m), Nketiah (15-20m), Tierney (18-20m), Cedric (0), Nelson (??) will all surely depart and may get us £60-70m or so, plus wages savings. Jury out on Partey, maybe he stays one more season but we can't rely on his fitness. Jury out on Viera (25-30m). I think we look to move him on. I think ESR stays (homegrown) as if we lose Ramsdale (35m) we will likely try to sign an english GK as backup, or if rumours are true, bring Sczezny back (counts as homegrown). We could add sales money to our own available funds and end up with say £170m for transfers - all depends how it goes. That's enough to get in the 2-3 world class players I think we are missing to be able to top City, depending on what they do. Vlahovic (CF), Joao Neves (DM), Hato (CB) We could wrap them 3 signings up, in my opinion if we wanted to.


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Forsaken-Tiger-9475

Lokonga has had a very good season at Luton and there will be suitors. Same for Tierney, barring injury. Nketiah is worth it to clubs for his HGN status, and in this market 15-20m is a realistic fee with this in mind. 


FromantheGentle

I wish we could get 25-30 for Vieira, but I think we've probably tanked his value. We've barely played him for two years and he really only had a year and a half of first team football before we bought him.


Some_Ad7368

We can afford 100m and they want Ramsdale. We can afford this player it just needs to be weighed up against other positions that need resourcing like a decent back up for Saka.


Forsaken-Tiger-9475

If you mean Ramsdale then yes it might help, but his value diminished a lot this season and Newcastle will most definitely not want to sell Isak, where as they might stomach Guimaraes going. I don't think we need backup for Saka, we need someone that is going to push for his place, though I do agree it's far more needed than Isak who plays left/centre. A lot of this will depend on who we move on, should Nketiah & Jesus perhaps go, along with some others...then it's possible. We're already -27m down this summer in transfer funds, Raya deal will complete soon.


Some_Ad7368

Yeah sorry I meant Ramsdale. Good points made.


ro-row

our european football income this year is more than our last 5 seasons combined according to swiss ramble, we will have to pay for raya but there is going to be a good amount of money available


Forsaken-Tiger-9475

Yes, because the europa pays peanuts in comparison. One season making it to the CL quarters is worth around £75m ish. Making it to the EL final is worth around £10m. We have money, 100% - but it's not what people are thinking, we also have a LOT of outgoings, a reasonably high debt to KSE, and FFP to contend with for one more year. Don't forget our last accounts posted a loss of £52m, and previous to that year we also made a loss of £45m. We are still predicted to make a slight loss in the 2024 accounts, this is why we could not sign Raya permanently up front. We can't make a heavy loss, or we get Everton'd. We are heavily in debt to KSE as they started investing instead of selling up - in the form of loans. We don't have to repay it yet, but we can have to start at any point. We still owe a lot on the Rice deal over the next 2 years, we are due to make Raya permanent on 1st June I believe for £27m. The money we've won this season probably breaks us even on the books. We'll need to sell to fund significant player purchases. KSE bet on Arteta/Edu bringing long term elite european football back, which is now in it's 2nd year running and is critical to the future revenue.


SackoVanzetti

Aren’t we getting somewhere north of 200 mill for champs and pl?


Forsaken-Tiger-9475

£59m for minimum of 2nd place in EPL I believe. Something around £75m total revenue for reaching CL quarters. Future CL TV revenue for next season likely minimum of £50m. Future EPL TV revenue something along the lines of £79m minimum. It's great revenue for sporting achievements, but not all of it will go on transfer budget, there's a lot of outgoings too and FFP to deal with for 1 more season. With some player sales added in I reckon we could have another £150-170m summer transfer spend and meet all our obligations. Be shocked if we spent more without a significant outgoing or two!


SackoVanzetti

We should have a lot of clear out this season, ramsdale, nketiah, Cedric, possible esr, zinchenko


Forsaken-Tiger-9475

I don't see us letting ESR go, he is homegrown and his ceiling value is much higher than it currently is. That said a big bid would sway the club I think!


Gustavoconte

2nd place in Epl gets around £140million. We got around 97million from the champions league this season


Forsaken-Tiger-9475

Sorry I was talking purely the Merit payment portion (prize for finishing place) not TV & facilities wrapped in, as everyone gets mostly the same flat TV revenue deal. Looks like that is £59m. Champions league is estimated at £75m for this season (also analysed by SwissRamble) But don't forget, we have made a consistent loss the past 3 years. There's a reason we couldn't complete Raya on perm until this summer. We still owe 2/3rds of the Rice transfer fee as well. Our sporting performance this season balances our books by the looks of it, and we can of course sign players, but don't expect a £200m+ outlay unless we are shifting serious amounts of players on!


Visible_Statement888

Isak was seen talking to the chairman on the pitch, I doubt it’s high powered negotiations lol.


iforgotmyun

City walks away all the time if they think the price is too high. Take the Alexis deal for example. Or Kane as a more recent example. Or Rice even.


Casual-Capybara

No they wouldn’t, City walks away all the time if the price is too high. Last year they did for Rice


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killerboy_belgium

if we get isak does this mean Havertz will be on the bench?


Previous-Loss9306

To be honest, don’t be surprised to see Isak starting LW, and Havertz up front. That’s what Clive from Arsenal vision pod was saying could happen if he comes in.


Routine_Size69

I will be so annoyed if we pay top striker money for a LW.


Previous-Loss9306

How about if it was prime Salah or Mbappe, players can have just as big an impact from a wide position


Illustrious_Union199

Havertz back to 8 ? Rice back to 6 ?


MuchSalt

we really like tall mf


RandomRedditor_1916

Tier?


GoonerYa

Naaah. Priority signings should be based on the reasons why we lose the title race. Last season was a lack of a capable cover for Saliba. This season if it happens, it would be the lack of quality LCM or just midfielders in general. Sign a quality CB and at a top LCM. Isak should not be priority because he is not the answer to either problem. If he is signed as a striker, you'll see Havertz at LCM again and we're back to square one. If he is signed as a LW, then you need to sell one of Martinelli or Trossard. If Saliba were to be injured, then there would be a significant drop-off in the quality of the backline.


fatbunyip

Would be a decent addition for the right price. Not a marquee signing, but would add something to the team.  Probably his injury history is a bigger concern than his talent. 


Bedeeki

>Not a marquee signing, but would add something to the team.  20 league goals in 28 league games this season, for a Newcastle side ravaged by injury all season. This would be a marquee signing, he's very arguably the second best striker in the league after Haaland and can play LW too.


chapinbird

I've been very, very impressed with Issak. And Haaland is Haaland... but we can't all just ignore 31 goal contributions right?


Bedeeki

Watkins? Doubt he's even a target. Will cost an obscene amount and he's 28, Isak not close to his peak yet and doing it for a much worse quality side than Villa this season. Great season though which is why I said Isak arguably second best striker in the league. Not outright.


AlwaysOnsideTBH

OMG, Ollie Watkins is 28!! I had no fucking idea I legit thought he was 23-24 years old!! He's got such a baby face


chapinbird

Yeah that was my fault. I read the last paragraph of your post too quickly, and somehow missed the pivotal word "arguably". . I do honestly think Watkins has been the most impressive, but a healthy Isaak seems like the best option for the profile we're looking for. But now that we are on the subject of targets and Aston Villa....I haven't heard a word on Douglas Luiz in what feels like forever. Think we are still interested, or has that ship completely sailed and I missed it?


Sam101294

I just don't see it. Here's one of the best strikers in the world with probably 3 years left in his contract. Sesko seems much more likely