Liverpool have been blasted for their attempt to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle United
Alexander Isak of Newcastle United
Alexander Isak of Newcastle United(Image: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan says he wants Newcastle United to charge Liverpool as high a price as possible for Alexander Isak after accusing them of unsettling the Swedish striker.
Isak, who had been training at former club Real Sociedad having missed the Magpies' recent tour of the Far East, is set for showdown talks with manager Eddie Howe. The forward had complained of a thigh injury before expressing his desire to explore a move away from St. James' Park.
Long-term admirers Liverpool were waiting to strike and did so with a £110m bid, but this was swiftly rejected by the Magpies.
"We believe he’s made his position clear but Newcastle hold his registration," Jordan began to explain on talkSPORT. "If Newcastle are prepared to be bold - and we think they possibly will be until Liverpool at some point [return] - Newcastle are not going to accept £110m.
"If somebody knocks on your door and says ‘I want to buy your house’, you don’t take their first offer, do you? Unless it’s something really ridiculous.
"Obviously Newcastle don’t think £110m for one of the best centre forwards in world football, in a position of real dearthful opportunity to get better centre forwards, I want Newcastle to make Liverpool pay as much as they possibly can."
The former Palace chairman would accuse the Premier League champions of exerting their influence to 'unsettle' Isak into pushing for the transfer, something he believes they are repeat offenders of accusing them of using similar tactics to tempt their now-captain Virgil van Dijk to move from Southampton eight years ago.
He said: "People get all offended and Liverpool fans start jumping up and down because it’s their football club you’re talking about, they have unsettled the player. One way or another, they’ve done it. And they’ve got form on it - they did it with Virgil van Dijk!
"Let’s not get around the fact they’re using their influence one way or another, make them pay whatever you want to get them to pay to a point where a player has to turn around and say ‘right, come on now, you’ve got to be realistic'.
"If they get to £130m, £140m, which is enormous amounts of money - we’re talking about preposterous amounts of money - this is the market we’re in. Then a player possibly has the right to turn around and say ‘what I want to do is leave, I am entitled to leave if I want to, and I am entitled to move on to a football club I think is better for my future, you’re just holding it back now by being ridiculous'.
"But, I don’t think you’d take Liverpool’s [£110m] offer and go ‘gee, thanks very much, when can we have it?’."
As Howe looks to get a better grasp of the situation with face-to-face talks on Tyneside, the manager has also made it crystal clear that Isak will not just be forgiven.
Before departing Seoul, South Korea, he said: "You have to earn the right to train with us. We’re Newcastle United.
"The player has a responsibility here to be part of a team and part of a squad - you have to act in the right way. So that is also at play here. We will make sure that any player does that to earn the right to train with the group.
"No player can expect to act poorly and train with the group as normal."
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