Alexander Isak’s potential move to Liverpool has become the most explosive transfer story of the summer.
Indeed, Isak has made it clear he wants to join Liverpool, while the Reds want to sign Isak.
This is all getting out of hand now as both the player and Newcastle United have issued public statements about this situation.
However, as of yet, a deal hasn’t been done.
Speaking on the Unfiltered Soccer Podcast, Gary Neville has been discussing Alexander Isak’s situation, and he has a different theory on why a deal hasn’t been done yet.
Gary Neville on punditry duty
Photo by James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images
Gary Neville shares his Alexander Isak theory
Neville was asked if he thinks Isak will be a Liverpool player by the end of the season.
The pundit says he does think Isak will join Liverpool, but he thinks this deal will only be done once the Newcastle vs Liverpool game next Monday is out of the way, claiming that this fixture is the hold up.
“One word answer, is he wearing Liverpool red this season?” Neville was asked.
“I think he’s wearing a Liverpool shirt. I think that Monday Night Football next week is obviously Newcastle versus Liverpool. I think they’re waiting for that game to finish and I think they’ll do the business later on that week,” Neville said.
Premier League signings who debuted vs their former clubs
It would make sense if Newcastle didn’t want to sell Isak before their game against Liverpool.
After all, what would be more painful than Isak scoring a goal against Newcastle on his Liverpool debut.
Interestingly, there are a handful of players from Premier League history who made their debuts for new clubs against their former teams – notably involving Liverpool.
Player From To Debut Match Date
Fernando Torres Liverpool Chelsea Chelsea 0–1 Liverpool 6 Feb 2011
Dejan Lovren Southampton Liverpool Liverpool 2–1 Southampton 17 Aug 2014
Boudewijn Zenden Middlesbrough Liverpool Middlesbrough 0–0 Liverpool 13 Aug 2005
Rickie Lambert Southampton Liverpool Liverpool 2–1 Southampton 17 Aug 2014
Teams often want to avoid this situation, but, every now and then, this situation does crop up.
Luckily for Newcastle, it does look as though Isak won’t be a Liverpool player by the time Monday’s game rolls around.