Isak is arguably one of the best strikers on the planet at the moment and after scoring 22 goals and bagging 5 assists in just 31 appearances this season he is on the wish list of several top European sides including league leaders Liverpool.
In a Q&A for The Athletic, Ornstein was asked about Isak's future and revealed that the Swedish international is certainly on the radar for manager Arne Slot who is looking for a more clinical striker than Darwin Nunez who may also move on this summer.
"If the opportunity arose (Liverpool want to sign him). But that's a big if. Newcastle have no intention of selling their best player and, understandably, don't welcome this kind of conversation."
As reported by the Daily Mail, the Magpies are targeting 3 top strikers including Ipswich’s 10-goal frontman Liam Delap who has taken the Premier League by storm despite his side struggling since gaining promotion. Delap only joined the club this season from Manchester City but with the club nearing relegation, he could be available for a cut price.
The report also states that Newcastle scouting chief Steve Nickson has watched Jonathan David of Lille and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko who are both hot property for teams searching for a top striker at the moment. David has scored 21 goals in 38 games for Lille while Sesko has fired in 17 for the German side and could certainly be strong replacements for Isak if he does depart.
The preference and the intention is for Isak to stay but with Liverpool offering what would be more money and a better chance at silverware, it will be hard to keep him. Arsenal are another side interested in the 25-year-old after what has been an injury-ridden season which has left both Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus on the sidelines.
Tribal ran a story this week analyzing how Isak would have been the perfect fit for the Gunners in the January window and how not signing a striker was always likely to come back and bite them eventually. The piece suggests that with Isak the title race would have been much different and the 13 point gap between them and Liverpool a lot smaller if none at all. Isak is likely to leave when the season ends, but with Liverpool set to lift the title,e it will be interesting to see which team Isak decides to join if given the opportunity after what has been a tough season for Newcastle so far.