Isak joins Liverpool in £125m British record deal

Alexander Isak scored 27 goals for Newcastle in all competitions in 2024-25

Liverpool have signed striker Alexander Isak from Newcastle United for a British record transfer fee of £125m, with the Swede saying he "wanted to create history and win trophies" at Anfield.

Newcastle sources claim the deal could be worth as much as £130m with add-ons.

Sweden international Isak, 25, had a medical on Monday before signing a six-year contract, and the deal takes Liverpool's summer spending to about £416.2m, without add-on fees.

Isak, who will wear the number nine shirt with the Reds, told the Liverpool website: "This is the next step for me in my career. I'm super happy that I've been given this chance and I'm very motivated to do something well with it.

"I want to create history. I want to win trophies. That's ultimately the biggest motivation for me.

"This is the perfect place for me to grow even further and to take my game to the next level and help the team as well."

Liverpool had an original £110m offer for Isak rejected in August but have now landed their first-choice target of the summer.

The protracted saga came to an end on the final day of the transfer window, with the Reds announcing the deal at 21:30 BST, two and a half hours after the window closed.

It follows Newcastle having signed Germany international striker Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart last week and Brentford forward Yoane Wissa in a £50m deal on Monday.

However, Liverpool failed to complete a £35m deal to sign England defender Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace. The 25-year-old had a medical with the Reds, but Palace's failure to sign a replacement meant the deal collapsed.

Newcastle's blunt 37-word statement announcing deal

Isak scored in Newcastle's 2-1 win over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final in March as the club won their first domestic trophy in 70 years.

However, he said he wanted to leave the club earlier in the summer and has not played for them in this campaign.

When announcing the deal, Newcastle issued a terse 37-word statement on the club website.

The statement said: "Newcastle United can announce the sale of striker Alexander Isak to Liverpool for a significant British record transfer fee.

"The Sweden international joined the Magpies from Real Sociedad in 2022 and made 109 appearances in all competitions."

Liverpool's busy transfer window

Liverpool won the Premier League title by 10 points in 2024-25 and are top of the table this season after three wins from their first three matches of the campaign.

They had already broken their club transfer record this summer by signing Germany attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz in a deal worth an initial £100m, with a further £16m in add-ons.

After also bringing Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Armin Pecsi and Giovanni Leoni, Liverpool have spent the highest total in a transfer window in Premier League history.

It is only the second time that an English side has shelled out more than £400m in a summer, following Chelsea's £401.2m outlay in 2023.

Meanwhile, the departures of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Jarell Quansah, Caoimhin Kelleher, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Tyler Morton and Ben Doak have recouped an initial amount of about £190m.

How the Isak move developed

Isak joined Newcastle in a £60m move from La Liga side Real Sociedad in 2022 and scored 27 goals in 42 appearances across all competitions last season.

He helped the Magpies win the Carabao Cup in March and they went on to qualify for the Champions League by finishing fifth in the Premier League.

Earlier this summer, Isak was left out of the Magpies' squad for their pre-season tour of Asia with what the club described as a "minor thigh injury", while it was understood he wanted to explore a move away.

He then trained alone at his former club Sociedad before Liverpool's initial bid for him was knocked back by Newcastle.

Amid continued speculation about his future, Isak released a statement in which he said promises had been "broken" by Newcastle and that their "relationship can't continue".

Newcastle said "no commitment had ever been made by a club official that Alex can leave Newcastle United this summer".

However, a move has now happened after Isak remained on the sidelines and missed their opening three league games, which included a 3-2 defeat by Liverpool at St James' Park.

Where does the Isak fee rank?

Liverpool's signing of Isak is one of football's biggest deals.

The previous British transfer record was the £107m Chelsea paid Benfica for Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez in 2023.

Wirtz, Moises Caicedo, Declan Rice and Jack Grealish all moved for initial fees of £100m and the Wirtz deal could reach £116m, while Caicedo's move from Brighton to Chelsea in 2023 may end up costing £115m.

On a global scale, Isak's move to the Reds is third when based on initial fees.

The two most expensive moves in football are Paris St-Germain's signings of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. The French club spent £200m in bringing in Neymar from Barcelona in 2017. Mbappe joined in the same year, initially on loan, in what became a £165.7m permanent deal.

The Isak transfer ranks behind those but above moves involving Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele.

Coutinho joined Barcelona from Liverpool in January 2018 in a £142m package which was worth an initial £105m, while the Spanish club paid Borussia Dortmund an initial £96.8m for Dembele in the previous window, with the fee potentially rising to £135.5m.