EXCLUSIVE: Isak open to Newcastle contract extension on one condition

Steve Kay

Updated: 4 Mar 2025 10:08 CST
4 min read

FootballTransfers understands that Alexander Isak would want a release clause as part of any new Newcastle contract.

We are told that the Swede is generally open to signing a new deal at St. James' Park, provided the terms include a release clause. He is settled in the Northeast of England and is not desperate to leave.

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However, Isak is aware that he has big-name suitors and would like to have his future in his own hands. Newcastle, meanwhile, would love to tie the 25-year-old down to a new long-term contract to fend off interest from his many admirers.

Arsenal and Liverpool are heavily interested in the 22-goal man. We hear that the Reds are a more credible summer option for him than the Gunners, with Arsenal expected to focus on Benjamin Sesko.

Newcastle have slapped a hefty price tag well in excess of €100 million on Isak's head and sources have dismissed suggestions that the striker has a 'verbal agreement' with the club to leave if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.

It is partly due to Newcastle's prohibitive demands that Isak is asking for a release clause.

Isak to sign a new contract?

Isak is still under contract at Newcastle until 2028, so there is no pressing urgency at the club to get him to extend. Indeed, we are told that talks are not expected to progress until later in the year - if he still is a Newcastle player at that point, that is.

His release clause would then be active from the summer of 2026 to ensure that he does not leave Newcastle mid-season. Given the early stages of the discussion over a potential renewal, the final fee of the release clause has not yet been decided on.

However, we have been informed that Isak would prefer the clause to be lower than that of teammate Bruno Guimaraes. The Brazilian's buyout fee stands at a whopping €120m and the Swede wants a more reasonable figure in the region of €90m-€100m.

A contract extension on these terms is viewed as mutually beneficial as Isak would secure a pay rise and an exit option, while Newcastle would get to keep their fan-favourite for at least one more season.

However, there is an acceptance that this will ultimately be a very challenging undertaking. Eddie Howe has made no secret of the fact that Newcastle need to carefully manage their finances after the Profit and Sustainability concerns of recent years.

Isak would flush a huge amount of cash into Newcastle's coffers if he were to be sold this summer, so a departure can't be ruled out despite his willingness to consider a contract extension.