A furious Alexander Isak became public with his frustrations at Newcastle while trying to force a British transfer to Premier League champions – but what happens afterwards?
Alexander Isak decided to stay away from Tuesday's PFA prices in Manchester, but made sure that he was still in front and in the middle of the headlines of the night. The Wantaway Newcastle star was mentioned in the Premier League team of the season and was the only inclusion not to attempt the stars-lined ceremony.
However, only a few moments before Mohamed Salah was declared player of the year for a historic third time, Isak dropped his transfer bomb. The Swede is desperate to play with Salah & Co. – who have rejected an offer – but has largely held his advice, even after he was asked to train away from his teammates in Newcastle.
But it was a dramatic change of tact when the 25-year-old was made public with his complaints, the magpies accused of breaking promises and damaging his relationship with the club irreparable.
Newcastle in turn – confirmed their dedication to keep it at the club, unless all sales conditions have been met. They do not predict that that will happen and so the Saga of the summer stays in an increasingly bitter impasse.
So what happens afterwards? Does Newcastle have to bury their heels or eventually come up with their appreciated assets and Liverpool can walk away itself?
We asked our team of mirror football writers to have their say about the story that promises to go until the end of the window.
Mark Jones
There is an alternative universe where – if Isak was indeed promised that he could leave this summer and Liverpool was given the encouragement they were looking for – this deal was friendly packed in June, we received the #TH werepalexander messages from Newcastle and the magpies already had a replacement of top quality, probably Hugo Ekitike and his back. But instead we are here.
In the current series of events, nothing would never happen before the two parties meet anyway on Monday, and the Tuesday evening's statements have made nothing more than a situation that is a considerable out of hand.
Was he right to become public? It's pretty stupid. What happens afterwards? Next week he signs for Liverpool for a fee that Newcastle can show to their fans and say they had no choice but to accept.
Dan Marsh
We will probably never know what was really said behind closed doors between Alexander Isak and those he refers from the Newcastle -hierarchy earlier. But regardless of what was said, the way he treated this summer is Shamolic.
Refusing to play is an incredibly bad form and it is difficult to have sympathy with anyone who decides to effectively reduce tools in an attempt to force a movement.
Nobody says that Isak does not have the right to be frustrated if promises are indeed broken. But his actions this summer are bizarre and incredibly naive considering Newcastle have difficulty landing their own No. 9 goals in the transfer window. They would never consider punishing a sale without buying quality enhancements in advance.
The issue now is that Isak has effectively placed itself in no man's land. The elite striker Merry Go Round is and disappeared and Newcastle does not want to sell. To be honest, if I was Newcastle, I would be more inclined to put down my foot after last night's statement. And since it is a world cup year, I would bet that Isak would soon change his mind because he would spend the season of the sidelines.
Ben man
It is a good job that Isak is so brilliant, otherwise Liverpool might be inclined to completely run away from this messy and increasingly bitter saga.
If an exit was promised to him this summer, I understand his frustrations. If Newcastle Ekitike had landed at the start of the window, he would probably already have his wish.
However, that did not happen – and regardless of the agreement of a gentleman between club and player, he certainly understands that Newcastle will not sell without a suitable replacement.
Perhaps if he had become public at the beginning of the summer, Liverpool may have admitted in the battle for Ekitike – or perhaps Arsenal would not have signed his Swedish teammate Gyokeres.
Liverpool will offer again and it is almost certain that he will eventually switch to Merseyside. Newcastle has the right to dig their heels and make it as uncomfortable as possible, but it is probably best for all parties to get it done before 2 September.
Tom Victor
This will sound like a cop-out, but whether or not Isak was right, comes down to what was told him by the Newcastle Higher-Up last summer. If he remained for another year with the promise to get his move this summer – similar to what we were told about the last year of Erling Haaland in Dortmund – then he can be justified in his frustration.
It is not as if Liverpool has their Premier League rivals Lowball. A reimbursement of £ 120 million including ADD -us would be a Premier League record record, and the decision of Isak to go public, it may result from a belief that the conditions for a sale have been met -although Newcastle would undoubtedly disagree.
Liverpool should not withdraw only because of the messiness of the situation, where Isak looks more sure than any signing that his Premier League record does not have. The situation of Newcastle is more complex, with questions about whether he will still be so valuable for them after another year of playing somewhere he clearly does not want to be, and it would not surprise me to still see the deal before 1 September.
Daniel Orme
You have to wonder what Alexander Isak thought he would reach with his statement. Did he wait that the club would see his Instagram post after months of resistance against Liverpool's overtures, did he shrug and then just bend for his wishes? Did he wait that supporters would take his side?
He is certainly smarter than that. I can't really blame Newcastle for their hard attitude, given his behavior.
That said, it is really difficult to see a way back for him in St James' Park. The fans are understandably furious and you can imagine that his teammates are not quite satisfied either.
Isak has a serious work to restore his relationship with the club, if that is even possible. All signs then indicate that he is leaving, so it depends on whether Liverpool would be willing to pay the £ 150 million that Newcastle wants to bank for his services.
Perhaps securing a little less is the better solution. It would give them enormous funds to strengthen, while the negative attitude of Isak comes from the club.
If that does not happen, he is really stuck in the land of no one with a surprise from Saudi Arabia – which I would not completely exclude. It is just a shame to see it ending this way given the goals he has scored and everything he has achieved in the northeast.
Sam Meade
Players nowadays have a voice and have a platform, so Isak is not the first and will not be the last to speak out when he feels wrong. How injustice is attacked. Too often, players forget that clubs make them what they are.
Isak was highly appreciated in Real Sociedad, but no big European side came in for him. Instead, it was Newcastle who spent large and invested in its development and quality. Both parties have continued to rise, but now it seems that Isak thinks he is bigger and better than the Magpies.
If Newcastle is serious to become a big force, they must behave like a big club. They have the finances to expel the wages of Isak and he will be worth as much next summer as he is.
If I was Eddie Howe or a leading light in Newcastle, I would not give Isak to leave. Or he goes out or comes over himself and searches for forgiveness later along the line. If the Magpies sell, don't start complaining if Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães realize that a few months of downing tools give you the exit you want.
This is the time to set your position in Newcastle.
Scott Trotter
Alexander Isak's statement has summarized his summer of bad timing. From kicking a fuss after elite clubs had already signed Star Strikers, pronouncing up to now after a story has been made clear, the Swede struggles to win PR, wars. Even when revealing that promises were made, without specific details of what was taken on the no explanation that really stimulates any sympathy. Instead, it feels like a final attempt to force a movement and it doesn't seem to have obtained fans.
The only thing that has been achieved, and perhaps this was the intention, makes reconciliation even more difficult. And for the time being staying in Newcastle still feels the most likely result. Newcastle's statement that he will remain does not mean he will do that.
The reality of whom Newcastle can bring in before he punishes an exit, and the price that Liverpool is willing to pay is rather inclined to do that. But where rather an apology, and possibly a deviation from his agent, might have been enough to see Isak return to the fold after the international break, it now feels a more difficult process than that. It is a situation that Liverpool can benefit from in January or next summer.
Thomas Wathen
You never know what the truth is behind closed doors, unless you have been involved in those negotiations.
If Newcastle has broken a promise to Alexander Isak, that is terrible for the Swede on a personal level. However, when a player signs an expensive long -term contract, there is an expectation at the club that he will fully see that contract, regardless of circumstances.
As a West Ham fan, I remember that Dimitri Payet was our best player because of a country mile and went wrong behind the scenes, which meant that he refused to play for the club and stopped training.
My opinion is the same today as then. I hate the idea of 'player power', but I would never want to hold a player in my club who clearly has no interest in what is best for the club as a whole.
They say in football that no one is bigger than the football club. Let's see if Newcastle believe that they can handle it without Isak or not.
If I was Eddie Howe, I would demand £ 120-130 million to get it off as quickly as possible before a rotten apple spoils the couple.