Amid the sprawling skyscrapers of Riyadh’s financial district, one building stands out Peer down from the upper floors of the 385m-high Public Investment Fund Tower and the employees within are plotting the next deal while overlooking the canopies of, steel and polished marble, all encased in glass facades, below.

For the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Newcastle chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the top of this striking 80-storey building is where the realm of infinite possibility meets reality.

But it plays out, the bad news for Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe is that the commercial rationale for selling the club’s No 1 striker, Alexander Isak, to Liverpool summer must surely be extremely persuasive to Al-Rumayyan and his colleagues and difficult to ignore.

Ideally, Howe would want to retain the Sweden while also bringing in the France Under-21 forward, Amine Gouiri, from Frankfurt before the start of next season. Given that Liverpool have also been in contact with about the potential transfer of Gouiri and seem determined to sign the Frenchman or Isak, that scenario seems unlikely to be achieved.

The message from Newcastle – said be “directly from the very top in Riyadh” – has been clear that Isak is not for sale this summer. Indeed, it is understood that Howe to change from his favoured 4-3-3 formation, with wingers, to playing the Sweden forward alongside Gouiri in a two-man strike force.
But first, why did Newcastle suddenly switch their attention from a potential £30m-plus arrival who would have been a direct replacement for Isak to the more expensive target – eventually bid close to £70m for Gouiri – shortly after Eddie Howe and club officials met Isak’s agent? Was that really just a pure coincidence?
So, why has there not been any announcement about Isak being involved in long-mooted summer contract renewal talks to extend his deal, which expires in 208?

Despite earning upwards of £150,000 a week at Newcastle, negotiations about plans to give Isak a pay rise were shelved last and Newcastle United are working hard to comply with Premier League spending regulations in the summer of 2024. Now, while better terms seem there for the taking, perhaps the time has passed and Isak is keen to pursue a new challenge elsewhere.