Alexander Isak to Liverpool verdict reached as Newcastle star left in ‘no man’s land’

A furious Alexander Isak went public with his frustrations at Newcastle as he attempts to force through a British-record transfer to Premier League champions – but what happens next?

Alexander Isak decided to stay away from Tuesday’s PFA Awards in Manchester, but made sure he was still front and centre of the night’s headlines. The wantaway Newcastle star was named in the Premier League Team of the Season and was the only inclusion not to attend the star-studded ceremony.

However, just moments before Mohamed Salah was named Player of the Year for an historic third time, Isak dropped his transfer bombshell. The Swede is desperate to play with Salah & Co. – who have had a bid rejected – but has largely kept his counsel, even after he was asked to train away from his Newcastle team-mates.

But it was a dramatic change of tact as the 25-year-old went public with his grievances, accusing the Magpies of breaking promises and damaging his relationship with the club beyond repair.

In turn, Newcastle responded – reaffirming their commitment to keeping him at the club unless all conditions of a sale are met. They don’t predict that will happen and so the saga of the summer remains at an increasingly bitter impasse.

So what happens next? Should Newcastle dig their heels in or finally cash in on their prized asset and could Liverpool themselves walk away?

READ MORE: Alexander Isak statement sees Liverpool drawing transfer line under messy Newcastle sagaREAD MORE: Alexander Isak’s team-mate’s stunned reaction on radio after huge transfer announcement

We asked our team of Mirror Football writers for their say on the story that promises to go right until the end of the window.

Mark Jones

There’s an alternate universe where – if indeed Isak was promised he could leave this summer and Liverpool got the encouragement they were seeking – this deal was wrapped up amicably in June, we got the #ThankYouAlexander posts from Newcastle and the Magpies had already snapped up a top quality replacement, probably Hugo Ekitike, and his backup. But instead here we are.

In the current series of events nothing was ever going to happen before the two sides meet each other on Monday anyway, and Tuesday night’s statements haven’t really done anything other than further inflame a situation that has got pretty out of control.

Was he right to go public? It is pretty silly. What happens next? He signs for Liverpool next week for a fee that Newcastle can show off to their fans and say they had no choice but to accept.

Dan Marsh

We’ll probably never know what was really said behind closed doors between Alexander Isak and those he refers to from the Newcastle hierarchy previously. But regardless of what was said, the way he’s handled things this summer has been shambolic.

Refusing to play is incredibly poor form and it’s hard to have sympathy with anybody who decides to effectively down tools in a bid to force a move.

Nobody is saying Isak doesn’t have the right to be frustrated if promises have indeed been broken. But his actions this summer have been outlandish and incredibly naive given Newcastle have struggled to land their own No 9 targets in the transfer window. There’s no way they were ever going to consider sanctioning a sale without sourcing quality reinforcements beforehand.

The issue now is that Isak has effectively positioned himself in no man’s land. The elite striker merry go round has been and gone and Newcastle don’t want to sell. In all honesty, if I were Newcastle, I’d be even more inclined to put my foot down after last night’s statement. And given it’s a World Cup year, I’d bet Isak would soon change his mind over spending the season sulking from the sidelines.

Ben Husband

It’s a good job Isak is so brilliant, otherwise Liverpool may be inclined to completely walk away from this messy and increasingly bitter saga.

If he was promised an exit this summer, I understand his frustrations. Had Newcastle landed Ekitike at the start of the window, he would probably have his wish already.

That didn’t happen though – and regardless of any gentleman’s agreement between club and player, surely he understands Newcastle won’t sell without a suitable replacement.

Perhaps if he had gone public at the start of the summer, Liverpool may have relented in the battle for Ekitike – or perhaps Arsenal wouldn’t have signed his Swedish team-mate Gyokeres.

Liverpool will bid again and it’s almost certain that he will ultimately make the switch to Merseyside. Newcastle have every right to dig their heels in and make it as uncomfortable as possible, though, but it’s probably best for all parties to get it done before September 2.

Tom Victor

This will sound like a cop-out, but whether or not Isak was right boils down to what he was told by the Newcastle higher-ups last summer. If he stayed for another year with the promise of getting his move this summer – similar to what we were told about Erling Haaland’s final year at Dortmund – then he may be justified in his frustration.

It’s not as if Liverpool have lowballed their Premier League rivals. A fee of £120m including add-ons would be a Premier League record, and Isak’s decision to go public may come from a belief that the conditions for a sale have been met – though Newcastle would no doubt disagree.

Liverpool shouldn’t pull out just because of the messiness of the situation, with Isak looking like more of a sure thing than any signing who doesn’t have his Premier League record. Newcastle’s situation is more complex, with questions over whether he will still be as valuable to them after another year of playing somewhere he clearly doesn’t want to be, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the deal still go through before September 1.

Daniel Orme

You have to question what Alexander Isak thought he was going to achieve with his statement. Did he expect the club to see his Instagram post after months of resisting Liverpool’s overtures, shrug and then simply bow to his wishes? Did he expect supporters to take his side?

Surely he’s smarter than that. I can’t really blame Newcastle for their hard-line stance given his behaviour.

Having said that, it’s really hard to see a way back for him at St James’ Park. The fans are understandably furious and you can imagine his teammates won’t be best pleased either.

Isak has some serious work ahead of him to recover his relationship with the club, if that is even possible. All the signs then point to him leaving so it depends whether Liverpool would be willing to pay the £150m that Newcastle want to bank for his services.

Maybe securing a little bit less would be the better solution. It would give them huge funds to strengthen, while getting Isak’s negative attitude out of the club.

If that doesn’t happen, he’s really stuck in no man’s land barring a surprise late swoop from Saudi Arabia – which I wouldn’t totally rule out. It’s just a real shame to see it end this way given the goals he’s scored and everything that he’s achieved in the North East.

Sam Meade

Players nowadays have a voice and have a platform, so Isak isn’t the first and won’t be the last to speak out when he feels wronged. Just how wronged is up for debate. Too often players forget that clubs make them what they are.

Isak was highly-rated at Real Sociedad, but no major European side came in for him. Instead it was Newcastle who spent big, investing in his development and quality. Both parties have continued to rise, but now it seems Isak thinks he’s bigger and better than the Magpies.

If Newcastle are serious about becoming a major force, they need to act like a big club. They have the finances to stomach Isak’s wages and he’ll be worth just as much next summer as he is this.

If I was Eddie Howe or any leading light at Newcastle I wouldn’t give Isak a sniff of leaving. Either he sits out or gets over himself and looks for forgiveness later down the line. If the Magpies do sell, don’t start complaining if and when Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães realise that a few months of downing tools will get you the exit you want.

Now’s the time to set your stand your ground Newcastle.

Scott Trotter

Alexander Isak’s statement has summed up his summer of poor timing. From kicking up a fuss after elite clubs had already signed star strikers, to now speaking out long after a narrative has been made clear, the Swede is struggling to win any PR wars. Even in revealing that promises were made, without any specific details of what was reneged upon it’s not a statement that really drives any sympathy. Instead it feels like a final bid to force a move and it doesn’t appear to have gained him any fans.

All that has been achieved, and perhaps this was the intention, is making a reconciliation even more difficult. And staying at Newcastle for the moment still feels like the most likely outcome. Newcastle’s statement that he will stay, doesn’t mean he will.

The reality of who Newcastle can bring in before sanctioning an exit, and the price Liverpool are willing to pay are more likely to do that. But where previously an apology, and possibly a departure from his agent, might have been enough to see Isak return to the fold following the international break, it now feels a more difficult process than that. It’s a situation Liverpool may be able to take advantage of in January or next summer.

Thomas Wathen

You never know what the truth is behind-closed-doors unless you’ve been involved in those negotiations.

If Newcastle did break a promise to Alexander Isak, that’s awful for the Swede on a personal level. However, when a player signs an expensive long-term contract, there is an expectation with the club that he’ll see out that contract in full regardless of circumstances.

As a West Ham fan, I remember when Dimitri Payet was our best player by a country mile and things went wrong behind-the-scenes that meant he refused to play for the club and stopped training.

My opinion is the same today as it was then. I hate the idea of ‘Player Power’, but I would never want to keep a player at my club who clearly has no interest in what is best for the club as a whole.

They say in football that nobody is bigger than the football club. Let’s see if Newcastle believe they can cope without Isak or not.

If I was Eddie Howe, I’d demand £120-130m to get rid of him ASAP before one rotten apple spoils the bunch.

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