Newcastle star had three-word response to Alexander Isak transfer bombshell before Liverpool move

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Newcastle United players realized that Alexander Isak wanted to leave the club for Liverpool after arriving at their preseason tour in China.

Isak had made his intentions clear that he'd like to leave the club, having not traveled to Asia earlier this summer. Newcastle initially stated he had a thigh problem, as his teammates jetted off for the Far East. And as the news broke, one of his teammates reportedly stated, 'Yeah, he's gone,' before the words, 'It is what it is,' according to the Daily Mail.

The superstar forward had already told head coach Eddie Howe that he would be looking to leave the club in the summer, with Liverpool's interest only confirming his desires to move on and join Arne Slot's team.

What followed would be an ugly month of Isak essentially holding out and refusing to play for the club to force a move to the Reds, even seeing him return to his former club in Real Sociedad to train.

Isak did not travel with the team to China and Hong Kong, seeing Liverpool sign Hugo Ekitike in a move that could have hampered his hopes of going to the Premier League champions.

(Image: Getty)

Newcastle rejected a $147 million offer from the Reds in late July, with reports emerging that Liverpool would not come back in with another offer.

Howe's team attempted to sign multiple strikers to replace Isak, including Liam Delap, Joao Pedro and Benjamin Sesko, before eventually landing Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa - spending $165m on the duo.

This lead to Isak being made available, seeing Liverpool eventually make a bid worth $168m, which was accepted.

Isak joined the Reds on the final day of the window, confirming that he will wear the famous number nine jersey, taking it over from Darwin Nunez, who left for Al Ahli.

The Swedish striker broke his silence after completing the move, explaining why he so desperately wanted to join the Reds this offseason.

(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

“It’s a mixture of what the club is building, but what they’re building on top of what the club already is. The history of the club,” Isak told Liverpool's official website when he was asked why he was so keen to move to Merseyside.

"Me getting the chance to be a part of this, I want to create history. I want to win trophies.

"That’s ultimately the biggest motivation for me and I feel like 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.

"I feel like 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."

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