Luke Edwards, a journalist with The Telegraph, has been at the heart of this summer’s most dramatic transfer saga. From the beginning, he presented himself as the leading voice on the Alexander Isak situation, repeatedly stressing that the striker was not for sale and that Liverpool had no realistic chance of signing him. However, when Newcastle eventually gave in and accepted an offer £25 million below their original valuation, Edwards’ latest revelations opened an entirely new controversy.
According to Edwards, who shared his findings on X and in a detailed article covering developments dating back to May, there are claims that Isak deliberately underperformed. The suggestion is that the striker behaved and played “like someone who did not want the team to qualify for the Champions League,” fearing that success would make it more difficult to justify his desire to leave both to manager Eddie Howe and to supporters.
Edwards explained that after Newcastle’s Wembley triumph, where Isak scored the decisive goal against Liverpool, his attitude shifted. He reportedly became withdrawn, less focused in training, and gave the impression of having already achieved all he wanted at the club. This apparent change led Newcastle’s hierarchy to prepare for possible bids. Setting an initial asking price of more than £150 million was, according to Edwards, a strategy to signal to suitors that the player was not really available.
The claims have sharply divided opinion. Many Liverpool fans have criticised Edwards for passing along information that paints Isak as disloyal, while Newcastle supporters’ frustration toward the striker has only grown. Some fan accounts have even compiled clips of his missed chances after May—footage they argue supports the narrative that his commitment had waned following the League Cup final.
Other journalists, including Craig Hope of the Daily Mail, have backed Edwards’ reporting, lending further weight to the allegations. Still, with Isak now officially at Anfield, the transfer saga—arguably even bigger than the one involving Trent Alexander-Arnold’s move to Real Madrid—has finally reached its conclusion. Even so, the fallout is expected to continue as more details surface about how the situation escalated to such extremes.
