Newcastle officially FAIL to stop star joining Liverpool

Newcastle United have failed to stop one star from joining Liverpool this summer. They did all they could...again.

Newcastle United have not had the transfer window they hoped for. The Magpies qualified for the UEFA Champions League, after all, and are a wealthy club - it should be fairly routine.

Instead, they've consistently missed out on targets. Part of that is certain clubs, like Manchester United, dramatically altering the market with their business.

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But mostly it's just players choosing other clubs. Liverpool have one of those, in fact, with Hugo Ekitiké.

Newcastle wanted to sign Ekitiké to replace Callum Wilson and pushed to agree a fee. Then the Reds waltzed in and snapped him up.

They turned their attention to Benjamin Sesko and then lost out to Man United after a long, long saga. And all of this with Alexander Isak kicking up a fuss in the background.

But it turns out that Ekitiké isn't actually the only player Newcastle have missed out on to Liverpool. There's now a second.

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Newcastle wanted Giovanni Leoni

Paul Joyce in The Times writes that Newcastle did make a push to sign Giovanni Leoni before he agreed a move to Liverpool. They went as far as bidding to Parma for the talented teenager.

But Leoni picked Liverpool, much as Ekitiké did. A difference-maker was the fact the Reds were able to show a clear path to the first-team.

And there's certainly that. Ibrahima Konate's contract expires in a year, while Virgil van Dijk is now 34. Leoni simply needs to keep developing at the level he has been and there's a regular starting role just waiting for him.

This, however, will be a massive blow to Newcastle once again. They just haven't had their way in this window whatsoever and it might actually get worse.

Isak remains eager to leave and Liverpool remain eager to buy. Newcastle have two more weeks to make a massive decision - and it could well see yet another star heading to Merseyside over Tyneside.

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