Isak Saga Sets Tone For 'absolutely Huge' Match

Arne Slot conscionable wanted to beryllium sure.

"St James' Park, it is, yeah?" nan Liverpool head asked successful nan lead-up to his side's crippled against Newcastle United.

Slot will beryllium near successful nary uncertainty wherever he is connected Monday night. Geordies will make judge of that.

This is Newcastle's first location crippled of nan campaign. It's a slope holiday. And nan champions are coming to town.

But nan Alexander Isak saga has added a heap of herb to nan juncture arsenic nan wantaway striker's suitors stone up connected Tyneside.

Eddie Howe needed nary reminding of that.

"We person sewage to ore connected what we request to do and not get excessively emotional, but surely usage nan power from nan crowd," nan Newcastle caput coach said. "It's going to beryllium captious for us."

Howe was speaking from experience. His squad person shown what they tin execute successful beforehand of a roaring St James' erstwhile their attraction is tack sharp.

Newcastle person only mislaid a twelve top-flight fixtures connected location ungraded since Howe took complaint of a broadside successful heavy relegation problem successful 2021 and nan stadium tends to beryllium astatine its astir febrile erstwhile a accepted large hitter pays a visit.

For context, successful 8 convention and cup location games against Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United and Spurs past season, Newcastle won six, drew 2 and mislaid none.

The instrumentality group Wor Flags person helped to group nan reside on nan measurement and dream to do truthful again connected Monday.

They person a pre-match show planned, but it has not been easy to put together aft Isak made his wish to subordinate Liverpool clear.

Wor Flags unpaid and Newcastle play summons holder Thomas Concannon said: "We wholly recognise nan full situation.

"That's why it's been really difficult arsenic a group to get correct because there's a batch of different opinions connected this full business astatine nan moment, truthful it's really difficult to get 1 unified view.

"We deliberation we person sewage thing that hits nan correct tone. We will beryllium going large arsenic we ever do, but pinch nan purpose of backing nan lads that are connected nan transportation because that's what is astir important.

"It feels perfectly huge. It feels for illustration location is measurement much riding connected it than conscionable 3 points. It's really strange. It's for illustration Newcastle are going into a crippled pinch a historical rival."

What a clip this is for Hugo Ekitike to beryllium making his first sojourn to St James' aft Liverpool won nan race, up of Newcastle, to motion nan French guardant past month.

Ekitike is simply a subordinate Howe knows good and, without blinking, he tin reel disconnected a concise scouting report: really bully movement, intelligent, bully successful nan air, scores goals disconnected some feet. That was nan lowdown. That was why Newcastle wanted him.

"There's nary uncertainty I really for illustration Hugo and person done for a number of years," Howe said. "He was personification we tracked for a agelong time."

That is an understatement.

In fact, Newcastle attempted to motion Ekitike connected 3 abstracted occasions complete a three-and-a-half-year period.

Newcastle made their first move successful January, 2022 erstwhile Ekitike was not precisely a family name.

But nan 23-year-old ever had immense potential.

Few cognize that amended than erstwhile Brighton head Oscar Garcia, who worked pinch Ekitike astatine Reims astatine nan time.

"You do not find galore strikers for illustration him astatine that age," Garcia precocious told Sky Sports. "He is tall, fast, mobile, very bully 1 against one, holds nan shot and scores goals. He tin fresh pinch teams that play much connected nan counter-attack, but besides pinch teams pinch much possession because he has nan accomplishment for some styles.

"Hugo knows which aspects he tin amended on, but he besides needs thief to create his imaginable to scope nan level that each nan group who cognize him judge he tin reach."

Newcastle were not unsocial among Premier League clubs successful recognising those qualities, however.

Liverpool had besides been search Ekitike for immoderate clip aft nan striker rediscovered his spark astatine Eintracht Frankfurt pursuing a frustrating spell astatine Paris St-Germain.

Newcastle whitethorn person made nan opening connection to Eintracht past month, but Ekitike had his sights group connected a £69m move to Liverpool aft antecedently speaking to Slot.

It proved a important infinitesimal successful nan transportation window. In much ways than one.

There tin beryllium small uncertainty that this move had a knock-on effect connected nan Isak saga.

If Newcastle had signed Ekitike, nan nine would person had a imaginable successor already successful nan building and clip near to bring successful an further striker to switch Callum Wilson, who near past month.

However, having besides subsequently missed retired connected Benjamin Sesko, who joined Manchester United, Newcastle are facing a title against nan timepiece to enlistee moreover 1 centre-forward earlier nan adjacent of business connected 1 September – fto unsocial two.

No wonderment nan nine do not foresee nan "conditions" of Isak's waste being met successful nan last throes of nan window.

And that is earlier mentioning nan imaginable of Liverpool making an improved bid for Isak that really gives Newcastle a determination to make, erstwhile nan Magpies person held patient to date.

Slot, understandably, would not beryllium drawn connected nan anticipation of Liverpool returning to nan array for Isak.

But nan Liverpool head appreciates what lies successful hold astatine St James' - sloppy of nan backdrop to nan game.

Newcastle's triumph against Liverpool successful last season's Carabao Cup final underlines nan size of nan visitors' task connected Tyneside.

"It's thing to do pinch thing that's successful nan media," Slot said. "If you spell to Newcastle, you cognize what to expect.

"We played them 3 times past play and their strength levels were doubly supra ours. In nan distant crippled (a 3-3 tie successful December), particularly nan first 60 minutes, they were truthful intense. They afloat deserved nan lead and successful nan League Cup last they were much aggravated than us.

"So I don't deliberation they request thing to adhd if they play astatine St James' Park."