Club insist there is no money left to sign second striker they would need to facilitate sale of wantaway Swede.
Newcastle United are close to completing a £69.2m deal to sign German striker Nick Woltemade in a transfer that could have huge ramifications for Alexander Isak’s future on Tyneside.
Newcastle sources had continued to insist all week that they are only looking to sign one striker in this window as a replacement for Callum Wilson rather than Isak. That remained the position on Thursday night, despite the breakthrough in negotiations to agree an initial £65m fee with Stuttgart for Woltemade, plus another £4.2m in add-ons.
Telegraph Sport has been told by multiple sources that the signing of Woltemade would end their long pursuit for a centre-forward and that, as things stand, there would be no money left in the budget to spend on a second striker.
That, though, could obviously change if Isak is sold, which would free up a significant amount of money to spend.
When asked what the signing of Woltemade meant for Isak’s future, a senior source replied that only one condition to sanction his departure had been met, but he would remain at the club if Liverpool do not match the asking price - which has been around £150m all summer - and Newcastle do not have another striker ready to arrive. Newcastle’s recruitment team are looking at potential arrivals with Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson still of interest.
That, though, could obviously change if Isak is sold, which would free up a significant amount of money to use either in this window, or in January, on another centre-forward.
The fact Newcastle are spending so much on a striker will offer encouragement to Liverpool to make a second bid for the Sweden international, who remains determined to force his way out of the club.
Liverpool had a £110m offer for the 25-year-old swiftly rejected at the start of the month, but have refused to give up hope of signing a player who is desperate to join them and has refused to play for Newcastle this season.
Whether the club hierarchy will soften their stance on allowing Isak to leave remains to be seen, but there is naturally going to be a suspicion that it will.
A club statement, signed off by chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, last week said Newcastle did not “foresee the conditions being met” for Isak to be sold in this window.
Those conditions are understood to be Newcastle signing two strikers before Monday’s deadline and Liverpool matching their £150m asking price for Isak.
Regardless of what the future holds for Isak, the signing of Woltemade would be an exciting one and would end a three-month search for Wilson’s replacement.
Woltemade fits the profile for Newcastle’s search for a centre-forward. The German international is tall and athletic at 6ft 6in, but as he showed for his country’s under-21 side this summer, is also technically sound and has a good all-round game.
The 23-year-old scored 17 goals in 33 games for Stuttgart last season and had been heavily linked with a move to Bayern Munich all summer.
But Newcastle appear to have moved ahead of the German giants by agreeing a fee for the player and will hope to wrap up the transfer before the weekend.
Liverpool have always maintained they will wait for encouragement from Newcastle before making a second bid, but will surely want to test their resolve to hold on to Isak.