Isak joins Liverpool in £125m British record deal

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.

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.

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 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, the Isak deal takes the club's spending to about £451.2m without add-on fees - 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.