Now is definitely the right time for Newcastle to brief partisan journalists that the club will resist ‘any offer’ for Alexander Isak. This is absolutely the time for Newcastle to brief partisan journalists that this will be ‘an ambitious summer of recruitment’ for the club. Especially those partisan journalists who are conveniently forgetting a despotic Saudi Arabia regime in their tear-stained ‘this means more’ fansplaining.
Thailand’s second most popular energy drink (h/t Wikipedia) must be absolutely buzzing; the most tinpot of trophies (while still being a trophy and absolutely deserving of Newcastle celebration) has become the most celebrated silverware in the western world. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Liverpool will not greet their Premier League victory with quite so much fervour. Carabao quenched the thirstiest fans in football – an astonishing return on a reported £6m-a-year sponsorship.
While some pretend that this trophy is the result of the Geordies’ sheer fun-loving force of will, those not in thrall to the Saudi Arabian overlords realise that it owes a great deal to Bruno Guimaraes and especially to Alexander Isak, bought with dirty money laundered in the tears of thousands of grateful fans.
And yes, two things can simultaneously be true: That this was a wonderfully emotional moment for Newcastle fans and also that Saudi Arabia have their first triumph after very cleverly identifying perhaps the only club in England whose local desperation for success was allied with a wider softness towards the region and their long-suffering fans. If ever a club was perfect for a Saudi takeover, it was Newcastle.
So yes, now is the time to be making it very clear that Isak (a target for Liverpool, Arsenal and Barcelona among others) and Guimaraes (long linked with Arsenal) will not be sold this summer. For now at least, Newcastle find themselves in the same position as Manchester City, able to ignore outside interest and only listen to their own players. Unless either footballer kicks up an almighty fuss, which seems unlikely after the euphoria of the weekend, they will begin next season at Newcastle.
But the Carabao Cup has only bought them a short grace period. That intense dopamine hit will only come once. It now has to be replaced by sustained success. By regular Champions League football and, within the next three years, a Premier League title challenge. And that new status has to be established now, in a season when a fifth Champions League place and frankly, poor competition, offers a leg-up towards the glass ceiling into the elite.
Champions League qualification has to spark Champions League recruitment to remain in that exalted company; Aston Villa have followed Newcastle in showing how not spending quite enough can see you drop back into mid-table in the Premier League. Do that and Isak and other excellent Newcastle players will be understandably eyeing the exit door in 2026.
Fans will argue that trophies mean more than Champions League qualification and right now – still high from Sunday – the players might agree. But in 12 months’ time, if Newcastle are dicking about in the Conference League and seventh in the Premier League, will the players still feel the same?
If you want to have that conversation about whether Isak or Haaland is the better No. 9 – and many pundits have been keen to have that conversation this season – then you must also accept that Isak is too good for Newcastle unless they join the gilded elite for more than one giddy afternoon at Wembley.
Newcastle have 10 Premier League games remaining to claim a Champions League place, and each one of those games could ultimately be more important than Sunday’s win over Liverpool when it comes to whether this club can keep Isak, keep Guimaraes and establish a forward motion befitting of their sportswashed status.
This is the football food chain and players like Isak will always covet moves to clubs like Arsenal, just as Antoine Semenyo might look towards the north east from Bournemouth, even though only a few points separate them in the table. Unless of course Newcastle can haul themselves onto the same level as Arsenal and Liverpool, and that campaign must begin as soon as the headaches clear.