Newcastle players 'suspect' Alexander Isak is joining Liverpool after development

A number of Alexander Isak's team-mates at Newcastle are said to be resigned to losing the star to Liverpool. The club was rocked on Thursday when the 25-year-old informed them he wanted to leave unless he could be guaranteed a contract worth £300,000-a-week.

Isak has long been linked with a £120million move to Anfield. Prior to the revelation, he had been left out of the club's pre-season tour to Singapore. Newcastle claimed his omission was due to a thigh injury, although many fans and pundits perceived the decision to be due to the transfer speculation.

According to the Daily Mail, squad members now suspect a deal will soon be completed for Isak to go to Liverpool. This would be a seismic blow to Eddie Howe and his squad after the Swede scored 27 goals last season.

That included a goal in their League Cup final win against Arne Slot's team. After Champions League qualification, hopes were high that he would stay on Tyneside, but his future now appears in jeopardy just 22 days before their Premier League opener at Aston Villa.

Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has criticised Isak's behaviour. He also took aim at his former club for announcing that he was being left at home due to injury, describing the reasoning as "ridiculous."

Vice-captain Dan Burn, who broke his silence on the saga from Singapore, also refused to comment on whether he believed his team-mate deserved a move, saying: "Listen, everyone's entitled to their own opinion.

"But I think we can just control what we can control. That's a question for Alex to answer. He's obviously a big player for us, but we do have a lot of quality in the squad as well."

Burn also maintained that Isak had been unable to train properly so far this summer due to his thigh issue. As well as Liverpool, Barcelona have also been linked with a move, although the Catalan giants reportedly favour making a bid next summer.