Jamie Carragher has described Newcastle as being “out of touch with reality” after arguing that Liverpool’s £110million bid for Alexander Isak was “insulting.” Isak is pushing to seal a move to Liverpool and earlier this week released a statement accusing Newcastle of failing to keep their word.

“The truth is that promises were given and the club has long been aware of my stance,” Isak stated. “Pretending these matters are only surfacing now is dishonest. When commitments are broken and faith disappears, the partnership cannot go on.”

The club hit back at Isak’s words, stressing that “the criteria for a sale this summer have not been fulfilled” and that they “do not expect those requirements to be satisfied.” Newcastle rate Isak at £150m, yet Liverpool icon Carragher insists that valuation is “excessive.”

Writing in his Telegraph column, Carragher explained: “Of course, I would welcome the Swedish forward at Liverpool, but not regardless of cost, and to say the first £110m bid for Isak is ‘insulting’ is out of touch with reality.

“If Liverpool go beyond £130 million, it becomes unreasonable. At that price you would expect to sign Kylian Mbappé. Since his debut at Anfield, Isak has impressed, but concerns remain.

“Now aged 25, he still has not shown the consistency of Salah. He has missed 36 league starts across his three Premier League seasons and 10 of his past 44 league goals were penalties. He would not be on spot-kicks at Liverpool.

Liverpool always knew persuading Newcastle to sell would be a battle. After Newcastle secured Champions League football, I felt the door was closed. Newcastle can refuse because Isak’s deal runs for three more years, while European competition promises strong income, making a sale unnecessary.

Regardless of what Isak wanted in private, it was fair to assume a deal would only be possible in 12 months. A fresh contract with written guarantees—if those verbal promises were genuine—would likely have pushed the transfer to 2026.

Now the situation is chaotic. Howe is deprived of his best player, and bringing him back into the team has grown tougher after Newcastle supporters gave a hostile response at Villa Park last weekend.”

Isak is presently training away from Newcastle’s main squad after skipping their pre-season tour of Asia and he did not feature in their league opener against Aston Villa, which ended goalless.