Alexander Isak’s attempt to force a move from Newcastle to Liverpool hasn’t gone down well with everyone on the red half of Merseyside as the transfer saga of the summer drags on
It’s not just those connected with Newcastle United who are unhappy with Alexander Isak’s behaviour this summer. The Sweden striker, who has been the subject of a £110m rejected bid from Liverpool, is trying to force a move away from St James’ Park.
Isak has been training alone after failing to travel for the pre-season tour of Asia. He also did not play a part on Saturday as Newcastle kicked off their Premier League campaign with a goalless draw at Aston Villa, where they failed to score against 10 men.
Naturally, his stance has enraged the Magpies’ hierarchy and the club’s fans, who have branded the 25-year-old greedy and ungrateful. Key Liverpool figures have also been unimpressed with Isak’s conduct, though, which could lead to some frosty exchanges should he eventually join the Reds. Here’s what some Liverpool legends have said about the Isak transfer saga…
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Jamie Carragher
The highest-profile member of the Liverpool media contingent says Isak has gone about his desire to leave Newcastle in the wrong way. The Sky Sports pundit told the told the i Paper: “Transfers happen every summer but I don’t think you should ever go toxic or nuclear where you refuse to play or train. That may be what forces the move in the end, so who am I to say it’s wrong? But I just don’t like it.
“They’re paying his wages, they’ve been great to you, you’ve been great for them, just keep training, keep playing and hope a deal gets done.”
Meanwhile, Carragher has issued a warning on Newcastle’s £150million valuation, saying on The Overlap: “It will be an amazing signing. But from a Liverpool fan point of view, I don’t want the club to spend £150m on Isak.”
He also cautioned that bringing in Isak for such a large fee would adversely affect another summer signing, Hugo Ekitike. Carragher added: “There’s something about Liverpool buying a striker [Ekitike] for £80m, and he’s a back-up. There’s something about it that doesn’t sit right to me.”
Dietmar Hamann
Former Liverpool and Newcastle midfielder Hamann agrees that £150m is over the odds for Isak. The German said via Casino Sites: “I think it’ll be very hard for Isak to go back to Newcastle now. Even if he doesn’t join Liverpool, they’ve got to find a way of trying to integrate him back into the team.
“I suppose he will end up with Liverpool. But how are they going to play then? That remains to be seen. I wouldn’t pay £150million.
“I think £150million is a spicy price tag for him. He’s a very good player. We know he can score goals in the Premier League, but I wouldn’t mind if Liverpool start the season with Ekitike up top.”
John Barnes
Another player who represented both clubs in an illustrious career, Barnes is not enamoured with Isak’s conduct. He told the Daily Mail: “I am not a big fan of it. If you are playing for a club, you have a responsibility to be a good team-mate and character, the fans have been great to you, but this is modern football.
“It could work in favour for Liverpool in terms of him coming, but, after the club has served him well, there are ways to do something. I don’t like the idea of players not training or turning up for something if they want to move. But this is modern football and we have to get used to it.”
Andy Carroll
Carroll made the move from Newcastle to Liverpool in very different circumstances in 2011, having not wanted to leave his boyhood club. The Gateshead-born striker, 36, now of Dagenham & Redbridge, has criticised Isak’s conduct, claiming he has severed ties with Magpies fans.
Carroll told Sky Sports: “The way he’s playing his cards at the minute, the Newcastle fans are not going to back him. He’s not going to help himself and it’s a shame because he’s such a good player and every Newcastle fan wants him to stay.
“It’s not really the same as me because it’s not his club. The Geordies took him in and made him one of their own but when he wants to go, that’s his mind changed.”
Michael Owen
Owen has insisted Liverpool cannot be blamed for the transfer stand-off, insisting: “This is not a strange scenario. It’s a high-profile scenario, but it’s the same scenario as what happens all the time.
“There are a lot of simple things that go into the discussion. From Newcastle’s point of view, they’ve got a player who’s under contract, and they’ve got to weigh up the balance of the finances, what they could receive, maybe having an unhappy player, or maybe keeping someone against his will.”
John Aldridge
Rather than Isak, ex-Reds striker Aldridge has taken a shot at Newcastle’s handling of the situation, calling their valuation of £150million “ludicrous”. In his Liverpool Echo column, Aldridge said: “This is not Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Isak is a top striker but that sort of fee for a player who clearly wants to leave and has even gone on strike to get it over the line I find incredible.
“It’s a situation that has not been handled well up at Newcastle but even their Saudi Arabian owners must realise it might be for the best to move him on and reinvest that money.”
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