Alexander Isak was on the brink of a British-record £125 million ($169 million) move to Liverpool from Newcastle on Monday on a frantic final day of the Premier League transfer window.
The Swedish striker is understood to have arrived at Liverpool’s training ground on Monday as a protracted saga neared its end.
With the Premier League window due to shut at 1800 GMT, there were a number of big deals yet to be done as clubs scramble to strengthen.
Sky Sports reported that Newcastle had agreed a deal to sign Brentford forward Yoane Wissa, while Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was set for a move to Manchester City after being told he was surplus to requirements at Paris Saint-Germain.
Struggling Manchester United were understood to have agreed a deal to sign Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp for an initial 21 million euros (£18 million, $24.6 million) as they seek to address their goalkeeping problems.
But most eyes will be on the expected finalising of Isak’s move to Liverpool.
The 25-year-old has made clear his desire to leave Newcastle even though he has three years remaining on his contract.
The Anfield club had a £110 million offer for the forward rejected last month and since then he has not trained with or played for Newcastle.
Isak is set to become Liverpool’s eighth first-team signing of the summer window, and his purchase marks the second time that they have broken their own transfer record following the capture of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for an initial fee of £100 million.
Arne Slot’s side, who beat Arsenal 1-0 on Sunday to maintain their perfect Premier League record this season, are also reported to have agreed a £35 million deal to sign Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi.
Once the Isak and Guehi deals are completed, Liverpool’s summer spending will reach an eye-watering figure of around £450 million, although there have also been significant departures including Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Newcastle last week signed German international striker Nick Woltemade for a club-record fee reported to be worth up to £69 million.
That paved the way for the potential departure of Isak, who scored 27 goals for Eddie Howe’s team in all competitions last season.
The Magpies will have further strengthened their attack with the arrival of Wissa, who on Sunday urged Brentford to “keep their word” and allow him to leave.
Now it appears that the DR Congo forward, who scored 19 Premier League goals last season, has his wish, giving Saudi-owned Newcastle extra firepower as they prepare for their Champions League campaign.
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