MONEY talks and Alexander Isak is listening hard to Liverpool.
And regardless of the Reds’ summer spending spree, there is still cash to splash to get the Swedish star out of and down to Anfield.
This week saw secure striker Hugo Ekitike’s signature for £69million to
That includes the mammoth £100m acquisition of Bundesliga ‘wunderkind’ Florian Wirtz.
Boss Arne Slot’s splurge is already spectacular but it is threatening to turn eye-watering.
No problem. Just let Anfield owners Fenway Sports Group have the Newcastle bank account number and sort code.
For Liverpool are rolling in it, with the greatest purchasing power in the club’s history right now, ready to break all financial barriers to create a team to strike terror into the hearts of not only their domestic rivals but throughout those in Europe.
FSG and principal owner John W Henry always tend to quietly go about their business, their purchases are usually secured early before the annual spending spree turns desperate towards the end of transfer windows when huge fees are bumped up.
But this time they might as well be shouting from the rooftop alongside the Liver Birds high above the banks of the River Mersey.
Thanks to the Americans’ superbly-run financial ship - and a brilliant transfer strategy hatched by Michael Edwards, who returned to the club 16 months ago as CEO of football - they can now outbid any rival.
Their former sporting director went back while Liverpool were still wondering who to appoint as Jurgen Klopp’s replacement, and he has overseen a stunning operation that has given the club money to burn.
Last summer, only £10m was spent on Federico Chiesa as Klopp’s successor Slot decided, alongside Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes, to stick and not twist with the squad the German left behind. But they did bring in an initial £47.5m in sales.
This year, astute dealing meant Liverpool even got £8m out of Real Madrid for letting free agent Trent Alexander-Arnold leave a month early to play in the Club World Cup, while £50m has since been raised by the sales of Caiomhin Kelleher, Nat Phillips and Jarell Quansah.
There is also huge money about to go in the bank for those Slot is now dispensing with - Uruguayan flop striker Darwin Nunez could bring in around £55m, midfielder Harvey Elliott is linked with a £30m switch to West Ham, and full-backs Kostas Tsimikas or Andy Robertson will go for £15m.
Slot does not want to see Luis Diaz leave but the Colombian attacker has made it clear he is after a new, bigger and longer contract elsewhere and is unhappy no one has talked to him about extending his current deal which has two years to run.
Bayern Munich are certain to return after a failed bid of £58m but another £7m will see him out of the door to the Bundesliga.
Add that little lot up and you can take a £180m chunk out of all the money required to bring in Ekitike, midfielder Wirtz, wing-back Jeremie Frimpong and left-back Milos Kerkez - meaning a potential net spend of a far less eye-watering £90m.
Last season’s gamble of trusting the same squad Klopp had, bar Chiesa, also brought in £174.9m in Prem title-winning prize money.
And Champions League football means even more cash for Liverpool. Not to forget that since FSG finished enlarging Anfield to accommodate 61,000-plus fans, a cool £3.12m for every home game is guaranteed.
And the Reds are only £40m into the allowed £105m of losses allowed in a three-year cycle.
Signing Isak - even at over £120m - will not really create sleepless nights for Anfield chiefs, nor is there the impression that failing to get full value for Diaz or Nunez is going to trouble them that much.
Anyway, with the South American pair on the way out another top striker is needed - something that would not have been the case but for the tragic death of Diogo Jota this month.
Life moves in mysterious ways. But there is no mystery as to why Isak has told Newcastle he wants to explore a move away - or why Liverpool can bust the British transfer record. And the Magpies are listening to him, too.
