Paul Merson says that Alexander Isak could have left Newcastle a hero this summer, but his actions in trying to force a move to Liverpool have affected an inheritance that saw him play an important part of winning the Carabao Cup last season and ending the 70-year waiting time of the club on a domestic trophy.
Newcastle has endured a hugely frustrating summer, missing a large number of transfer goals while he has to cope without Isak.
The striker trains away from the first team and will miss the Premier League opener of the weekend in Aston Villa on Saturday lunch after he has told the club that he wants to explore his options elsewhere in the midst of interest from Liverpool, who had rejected an offer with a big money for the Sweden striker.
Reports suggest that ISAK is adamant that he will no longer play for Newcastle and the desire to join Liverpool in a Saga that has dominated and will continue to dominate, the transfer window to the deadline on Monday 1 September.
Read on for the exclusive thoughts of the Magic Man about all things Isak, Newcastle and Liverpool …
'Isak has a big chance'
It is an incredible situation in which Isak has introduced itself.
He takes a big gamble by reporting that he will never play for Newcastle again.
Newcastle is a big city, but it is a fish bowl in terms of football, where it is a city of one club.
I would not want to be in his shoes if he doesn't get his move. He is a lot out of the Newcastle region with his actions.
If he does not get away before the transfer window closes, he has to score a number of serious goals to get the Newcastle fans around the back of the back.
'Isak's hero status disappeared when he leaves'
When he leaves, he will not leave Newcastle as a hero.
If he had been kept quiet, he could still have gone for big money, so Newcastle had given a serious profit after he had given everything to the club. He was a large part of that trophy success last season, and he would be remembered for it.
Everyone could have shaking hands and eventually being happy with the deal.
But that is completely gone now.
The situation is completely ridiculous. It only shows that the players have all the power.
'Situation proves that players still have the power'
Heads are turned into football.
There were so much that Isak would not leave, he would not leave Newcastle.
Ultimately, when players decide that they want to go, that's it.
It's just incredible.
Newcastle has just won their first trophy since I was even born. Everything is great there and Isak is so big that there is a large part of it.
Suddenly, scared. An absolute key has been thrown into the works by Isak.
'Newcastle does not want an unfortunate player, Liverpool knows that'
Newcastle rejected an opening offer of £ 110 million plus add-ons, but now, after what Isak has said and done, Liverpool will no longer offer. Why should they?
They know the situation and know that Newcastle does not want an unfortunate player.
The timing of Isak is interesting. Maybe he thought that a deal of more than £ 110 million would be enough. Newcastle held stimulated, but now he clearly just wants to leave St James' park.
His hand is now forced and that is why he says that he will no longer play for Newcastle.
He possibly thought that the first offer would be accepted and he would not have to do anything. He thought he would leave a hero, but now that has disappeared.
'Newcastle puts Isak on the map'
It seems that Isak will not play against Aston Villa. He will probably not play against Liverpool and then Leeds, which offers Newcastle Hold Firm and does not sell it.
If Newcastle loses two of those competitions, they are already against this season.
It is amazing how this situation can happen.
Players sign large contracts and Isak has a few pounds. He also has three years about his deal, so Newcastle should really keep the cards.
But someone comes in for him and he wants to leave, but now he won't play. I just don't understand how it can happen.
This is a club that put him on the map.
He was clearly decent before he arrived in Newcastle, but how many people knew about him? Now he is a global star and Newcastle has helped him achieve that.
'Isak needed to be able to handle things differently'
I don't like what happens.
If Isak were kept quiet, trained with the team and things were to run his loop, this will probably all be solved.
If a deal has not happened, it is not as if it is not good enough to make it happen again.
Liverpool would not have just dropped their interest. He is no wonder of one season. He is a quality player.
In the end, a deal would have happened, even if it hadn't happened in this window. Someone would always like to buy a player of the quality of Isak.
He just had to bring his head down, train well, score goals when the chance was presented and this could have been so different for him.
After the work he did at the club, he could have left a hero. But now many people who are associated with Newcastle are going to think differently, and that is a shame because of what he has achieved in St James' park.