By the time Newcastle United were finally prepared to accept a British record transfer fee to sell 25-year-old Swedish superstar striker Alexander Isak to Liverpool on transfer deadline day, the player had been made into something of a villain on Tyneside and in the wider British press.
Ungrateful. Disloyal. A man who simply hadn’t done things the right way. The proper British way. And never mind Marc Guéhi, the Liverpool transfer target everyone agreed did things the right way, in the end got screwed over by Crystal Palace for behaving properly in the eyes of the same British press.
It was clear, of course, that the narrative was being pushed by Newcastle’s briefed journalists. Amplified by ex-Newcastle pundits. And never mind Newcastle’s pursuit of Brentford’s Yoane Wissa that looked an awful lot like Liverpool’s pursuit of Isak, with Wissa in the Isak role.
“Not everyone has the full picture, but that’s something for another day,” Isak told the press while on duty this week with the Swedish national team when asked about this past summer’s biggest transfer saga. “I can’t control everything that’s said or written, but I’m happy that I became a Liverpool player.”
”It’s great that everything was settled and I can focus on playing football again. It’s been a new situation for me, but you learn and develop mentally off the pitch as well. I have a positive feeling about the club team part that is coming. It has been educational, but I’m happy with the result.”
What information did emerge covering Isak’s side of the story this past summer tended to be quickly buried by the Very British Grumbling over things that are simply not done, but it was clear from early on that the striker believed Newcastle had reneged on promises they had made to him.
It was also made clear Isak had signalled a clear desire to move on from Newcastle last summer and had been convinced to give the club another season—a supposed final season. He then went on to have the best season of any striker in England and helped Newcastle qualify for the Champions League.
The player believed he had shown loyalty despite broken promises. The player believed if a significant bid arrived he would be allowed to depart. Then it became clear that wouldn’t happen without an almighty push on his part. Given what happened to Guéhi, it seems Isak made the right choice.