That ‘could be music to the ears of Liverpool fans’ who managed to avoid those silence-breaking quotes which were made 16 days ago and have since been proven largely redundant because they are still not “close to finalising the next step for the player” at all. But it doesn’t feel likely.

Newcastle have rejected a formal £110million offer from Liverpool for centre-forward Alexander Isak. Isak wants to leave Newcastle this summer and has been training at his former club, Real Sociedad, while Eddie Howe’s squad are in South Korea as part of their pre-season tour of Asia.