Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres both forced transfers to Premier League rivals this summer, with the Arsenal striker siding with his Sweden teammate.
Long before the ugly scenes of Isak’s final weeks at Newcastle, Gyokeres had gone on strike after informing Sporting CP he would not return for pre-season.
That came amid interest from Arsenal, who completed a £64 million deal at the end of July, and just over a month later Isak finally made his £125 million to Liverpool.
Isak is set to play his first minutes of the season while on duty with Sweden this month and could do so alongside Gyokeres in attack.
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Sweden’s World Cup qualifier against Slovenia on Friday, Gyokeres sympathised with Isak amid depictions of a ‘toxic’ approach to forcing a transfer.
“We all play and I think the clubs have the most power,” Isak’s teammate argued.
“It’s maybe difficult for the players to choose in a lot of cases.
“When it’s a player that’s not wanted in that club I think it’s the total opposite, he doesn’t have any power and the club can do literally whatever they want with the player.
“It’s difficult, but it’s how the situation is.”
It is perhaps no surprise that Gyokeres would take Isak’s side given the similarity in their situations in the transfer window, with both under the belief they had a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with their previous clubs over a move.
“You don’t really know what’s been going on behind [the scenes],” Arsenal‘s No. 14 continued.
“I don’t really know in his case what the situation has been exactly, it’s difficult for me to speak about that.”
According to The Athletic, Liverpool were left baffled by suggestions their initial £110 million bid for Isak – tabled at the beginning of August – could be viewed as derisory by Newcastle.
Newcastle are revealed to have explored options to finance much of the anticipated £130 million fee they hoped to receive for their striker long before a deal was agreed.
That was despite it being widely reported by sources on the northeast that Isak was not for sale and that Newcastle were still hoping to reintegrate him after the transfer window.
Fortunately all parties saw sense and an agreement was struck at the very end of the summer, with Isak now able to build his fitness with Sweden before joining his new teammates ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Burnley on September 14.