After Alexander Isak made it clear that he is open to leaving Newcastle, Eddie Howe will gladly prevent the Saga from becoming a big distraction for the new season
The Alexander Isak Saga has left Newcastle United with a similar problem as the only thing that Borussia Dortmund was confronted before the departure of Erling Haaland to Manchester City. Isak has told the magpies that he wants to explore a step from Tyneside after speculation around his future rattled in the past week.
Head coach Eddie Howe sent the Swede home from Newcastle's friendly at Celtic “because of the speculation around him.” Later in the week it was announced that he would not be part of the pre-season tour of United to Asia, with a small thigh problem as the reason for his absence
On the same day it turned out that ISAK had asked to look at options, away from St James' Park, where Liverpool was interested in signing the 25-year-old despite the arrival of Hugo Ekitike for a first £ 69 million.
Liverpool may have to pay up to £ 150 million to praise Isak from Newcastle, who are not busy selling their star striker. Despite his undoubtedly quality, the constant presence of Isak at the club can turn out to be an unwanted distraction when the Magpies prepares for the new season.
It is a similar scenario like that of Dortmund as a speculation about the future of Haaland in 2022. After scoring a remarkable 86 goals in 89 games after his relocation of RB Salzburg, Haaland was on the radar of a large number of clubs, including Liverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona before he was finally at a deal of £ 85.5million.
While the departure of Haaland left a huge gap at Dortmund, there was an element of relief when he left, in which sports director Sebastian Kehl gave the speculation of the future of Haaland, had become a burden.
After the exit of Haaland, he said to Bild: “Eventually the issue of Haaland became a burden in the dressing room. As much as we always loved Haaland and he was successful with us, he eventually became a burden in the dressing room, the club and the whole environment.
“He had become the subject of every conversation. Besides the club, almost everything was focused exclusively on him. In the end, the timing of the transfer was suitable for both parties. And we are all happy for Erling that he remains so successful.”
Howe will not want that situation to be replicated in Newcastle, although he has refused to take a timetable about a decision about the future of Isak. Speaking in Singapore, Howe admitted that the club has a 'decision to make'.
“I would not put a timetable on it. I think it should be suitable for the football club with these situations, and everything will be taken in context,” he said.
“But the club will make the right decision with all the information it has, and ultimately to try to help the club in any way. Then it is up to us to make good decisions the other way and improve the team as well as possible. That is what we try to do, regardless of Alex's situation.
“But I think there is a wider photo here. There is a whole football club that has to make the decision. The ownership, together with the board of directors, especially with the money involved in modern transfers. The manager of course has an opinion, but in the end the decision will rest with the board.”