The Newcastle United owners hold all of the power in the Alexander Isak situation, and Gary Neville believes they have a very difficult decision to make.
The situation at St James’ Park has become nuclear, with Alexander Isak refusing to play.
The 25-year-old has downed tools, as Newcastle United get set to start the 2025/26 Premier League season without their superstar striker.
Isak wants to join Liverpool, but that will only happen if a replacement arrives and a suitable offer comes in. The Sweden international is valued at £150million, with Liverpool’s opening bid worth £110million.
With Isak likely to stay at Newcastle as it stands, Gary Neville has explained why there is so much pressure on PIF.
Alexander Isak in action for Newcastle United against Nottingham Forest.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Gary Neville explains why Newcastle United owners must ‘stand strong’ over Alexander Isak
Throughout this saga, all the focus has been on Isak and how he is going about getting what he wants, which is a move to Liverpool.
In the eyes of Neville on the latest episode of the Stick To Football podcast, the ‘big players’ are the Newcastle United owners, who he believes could create a very dangerous situation for themselves if they wash their hands with Isak and allow him to leave.
“Throw this forward, because to be fair, the big players in this are the Newcastle owners,” he said.
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“So they’re sat there in Saudi Arabia, they’ve got all the money in the world, and they’re being threatened, blackmailed, whatever you want to call it, by a football player. The football player said he’s not coming back unless you let me go to Liverpool.
“What do they do? Because I’m thinking it from an owner’s perspective and thinking… Hold out for the value, or you then set a precedent that any player can come into your club and say, by the way, I’m not training, I’m not playing, and then you let them go.
“Do they have to stand strong and say, I’m sorry mate, you’re staying at this football club this season, if you’d gone about it a bit of a better way, you might have got out of it, but you’re actually not going.”
Newcastle United owners must make an example of Alexander Isak
It is an unenviable position. Newcastle United have a player who is desperate to leave and has downed tools. The situation is toxic, and may only be resolved once Isak leaves.
To make life easy for themselves, Newcastle could just let Isak go for less than their valuation and be done with him. However, that creates the situation that Neville has alluded to where players suddenly know they can throw their toys out the pram to get a move out of St James’ Park.
That is exactly the reason why the Newcastle United owners must make an example of Isak. He has to be forced to stay until an acceptable offer comes in and a replacement is found.
The latter could be the biggest complication, as striker options are few and far between this late in the window. Newcastle tried and failed to replace Isak, making moves for Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko.
There is not a clear Isak alternative on the market, which should result in PIF telling Isak that he is not going to get his way.