Downing tools until he gets his transfer? It all sounds very familiar at St James' Park
Alexander Isak must be kicking himself.
Having disseminated the message that he considered himself an ex-Newcastle player last week, perhaps he hadn’t realised there was still another bridge to burn.
How he must have looked on with envy on Monday as fellow transfer window rebel Yoane Wissa deleted all mention of Brentford from his Instagram profile in a move – it was breathlessly reported – that represented an “escalation” in his push to join, irony of ironies, Newcastle United.
Ridiculous, isn’t it? Rather than doing what they’re handsomely paid to do as the Premier League season kicks off, two of the division’s most prolific strikers make the conscious decision to sit on the sidelines, sending out various degrees of shade because their clubs refuse to roll over and have their bellies tickled by clubs higher up the food chain.
Their actions should be a giant red flag to potential suitors but such is the nature of the striker market this summer.
“High prices, not much quality left, no willing sellers,” one recruitment source tells The i Paper.
Clubs aren’t going to walk away from strikers capable of scoring the number of goals that Wissa and Isak can.
Still, by taking a very public and performative route to trying to get their wish, both Wissa and Isak can’t complain if it blows up in their face by 1 September, as now feels increasingly likely.
Because whatever message they might like to get out there, the chances of either getting the move they crave is diminishing with every day that we get closer to deadline day.
Take Wissa. As of Tuesday, a move to Newcastle wasn’t dead but it wasn’t exactly flourishing, even long before his social media shenanigans at the start of the week.
File photo dated 07-01-2025 of Eddie Howe (left), who admits the Alexander Isak situation is ???far from ideal??? but still hopes to see the unsettled star back in a Newcastle shirt after confirming the club rejected an offer from Liverpool. Issue date: Saturday August 2, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: John Walton/PA Wire.
Isak and Wissa may well not get their moves (Photo: PA)
A breakthrough has been supposedly imminent for a fortnight but here’s the reality: there have been no new talks with the Magpies since Brentford indicated – almost a month ago – that there was no price Newcastle could pay them until they had a replacement of suitable ability to replace him.
Dango Ouattara came through the door at Brentford over the weekend but he’s Bryan Mbeumo’s successor. So Brentford need another player in and Newcastle know this. If the Magpies were aware of that, why weren’t those who have been advising Wissa to go down this route of no return?
Newcastle’s valuation on him is £30m – or £30m plus £5m in add-ons at a stretch. Perhaps a month ago that might have been a starting point for discussions with Brentford if they were minded to sell. It’s certainly good money for a 28-year-old with effectively two years on his contract (he has a year plus an option of another year in the club’s favour).
But transfer market dynamics are a thing and now there is less than a fortnight until the deadline. So a desperation premium gets applied to the price and it starts to get out of whack with what Newcastle, still hemmed in by profitability and sustainability rules (PSR), are prepared to pay.
Wissa, and those who he pays to represent him, surely should have known all of this. Their advice should have been to get his head down, play on and make sure that he’s ready to make an impact at Newcastle if the situation is resolved.
Instead there’s a deep unease among many Newcastle fans at Wissa’s Instagram disrespect, especially as his conduct is starting to look strikingly similar to their own non-playing forward.
It’s understood that when Newcastle’s delegation first spoke to Brentford’s, both remarked on how similar the situations were. So there’s a certain amount of respect at St James’ Park for the way Brentford are digging in, just as they are with Isak – who has scandalously withdrawn his services in a desperate bid to force through his move to Liverpool.
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Newsflash for Isak and his people: it’s not working. Newcastle’s position isn’t shifting and Isak’s position is actually making it harder for them to operate in the transfer market, because clubs now perceive them to be desperate.
What we have in the vacuum that’s left is a whole load of wishful thinking from Liverpool supporters, who climbed on the idea that Newcastle might just buy Wissa and decide to sell Isak. But the strong message from the very top at St James’ Park is that has never been the case.
They need two strikers in to consider a big sale and why should they weaken themselves just so Isak and Liverpool get what they want? They won’t and shouldn’t.
This is, remember, Newcastle’s big sale and a chance to reset the whole club from a PSR perspective. There’s a chance to come out of an Isak sale stronger, but not by panic buying.
Both players could yet get their moves. But they’re taking a huge gamble by not acting the right way – and the cost could be a humiliating climbdown when first team reintegration is back on the agenda.