Liverpool's £150m Isak Bid in Jeopardy as Nunez Nears Al-Hilal Exit

Darwin Nunez appears to be closing in on a Liverpool exit, but their hopes of replacing him with Alexander Isak have taken a severe blow. The Reds have the Newcastle star right at the top of their shortlist having seen an opening bid of £110million rejected by Eddie Howe’s side.

The Magpies have no intention of selling Isak below their £150m valuation - and would still only do so if they had secured a replacement before his exit. Liverpool also knew that having already splashed the cash this summer, they would need to sanction a high-profile exit to go back into the market.

And according to reports in Italy, Saudi side Al-Hilal are closing in on a deal for Liverpool’s misfiring forward Darwin Nunez. It is suggested that they have struck a verbal agreement with Liverpool over a deal.

Liverpool’s asking price for Nunez was thought to be in the region of around €70million (£61m) and should that go through, it would free up crucial funds for the reigning Premier League champions. Nunez - who has also been linked with Napoli and AC Milan this summer - is now in talks with Al-Hilal over his personal terms.

And while his exit could theoretically clear the path for Liverpool to make a move for Isak, the chances of that deal are now hanging by a thread.

Newcastle had hung their hopes on RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko replacing Isak, if they were to cash in on the Sweden international. Eddie Howe's side launched two offers for the Slovenian striker - the second of which was accepted by the Bundesliga side.

However, on Wednesday, it emerged that Sesko had instead picked Manchester United over their Premier League rivals, with the Red Devils now closing in on a deal. That could leave Newcastle without a suitable replacement and therefore unwilling to negotiate over their own star striker.

Isak has returned to the North East over recent days after not joining his team-mates on their pre-season tour of Asia thanks to a reported 'thigh injury'. And Howe has warned Isak that he will not be able to just walk back in.

As quoted by the Daily Mail , he said: “You have to earn the right to train with us. We are Newcastle United . The player has a responsibility here to be part of a team and part of a squad - you have to act in the right way. So that is also at play here.

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“We will make sure that any player does that to earn the right to train with the group. No player can expect to act poorly and train with the group as normal.’

“Of course I'd like him to be (there), but whether he will I don’t know at this moment in time,” the Newcastle boss added. “We have been here with the time difference, preparing for training and for games. Other people have been dealing with that situation back at home.”

Nunez and Isak come into the new campaign off the back of contrasting seasons. The misfiring Uruguayan scored just five Premier League goals last season - while Isak netted 27 in all competitions, including a goal which helped Newcastle beat Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.

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