Having missed the first competitive game of the season, it feels like we’ve hit a point of no return with Alexander Isak and his Newcastle United career.
With a first fine on the way, and the travelling fans having now turned their back on the Swede, any club-player relations look to be getting worse before they get better.
And yet with no mainstream hint that a fresh offer from Liverpool is on the way, we’re facing the very real possibility of an unhappy Isak still being at the club come the end of the transfer window, which could either go fantastically or absolutely terribly.
Having already faced plenty of criticism over his recent behaviour, Wayne Rooney is the latest pundit and former player to lay into Isak’s poor choices over the last few weeks.
Speaking on Match of the Day, Rooney commented on the Isak situation after the striker’s notable absence ultimately cost us all three points away at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon.
As things stand, Isak is set to return to the squad and slowly be integrated back into Eddie Howe’s system, but the former Manchester United man feels it won’t be quite that easy after everything that’s happened.
“The fact that he’s refusing to come in and train, it’s going to be very difficult for him to come back in. There’s a trust element there; he’s going about it the wrong way.”
Howe made it clear earlier this month that he only wants dedicated players to be given an opportunity at the club, and even Isak’s own teammates like Dan Burn have continued to reinforce the team and brotherhood mentality in their recent interviews. Isak looks to have greatly alienated anyone and everyone who has supported him over the last three years.
All summer, it looks like Liverpool were pressing hard to sign Isak in time for the new season starting. But now we’ve gone past the opening weekend, and Arne Slot’s side have started to use Hugo Ekitike, it does seem like everything has gone quiet on this supposedly incoming second bid for Isak.
Rooney suggests that Isak’s actions may have impacted how he’s being perceived by other clubs, including Liverpool, where his strike against his current club could very well happen to them in the future.
“Maybe he’s getting advised wrongly. But also for the team who’s trying to sign him, in this case it looks like Liverpool, you have to wonder, is this the sort of player you want, who’s going to desert his team-mates and a huge football club.”
“It’s a good opportunity, but it has to be done in the right way.”There’s the right way to do it and the wrong way. And I’ve been there myself when I’ve asked Manchester United to leave.”