If things weren’t already tense in the ongoing Alexander Isak transfer saga, then the last week of events has poured petrol on to an already raging fire.
Isak’s statement on Instagram caused a big stir, and forced the club to finally release a late night response just hours later, expressing their disappointment at the striker going public in his ongoing push to force a move.
And with Isak now confirmed to be absent for the upcoming league game against Liverpool, the situation with the striker has been likened to what we saw unfold with Trent Alexander-Arnold as he was pushing for Real Madrid.
However, these comparisons haven’t gone down well in the media, and former players from both clubs have come out to criticise the idea that the Isak and Trent situations are even remotely similar.
In a new column for The Telegraph, Jamie Carragher has emphasised that comparison’s likening Alexander Isak’s push to leave with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s “do not stack up.”
As the Sky pundit points out, Trent was an £80m scouser with a connection to the city that ran his contract down, where as Isak will still land us a “massive fee” and is not a local lad.
He wrote: _“Comparisons have also been made between Liverpool fans’ response to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s exit. They do not stack up.”_
_“Alexander-Arnold was an £80m, home-grown footballer who ran his contract down. If Newcastle sell this summer or next, they will get a massive fee for a striker who, until three years ago, had no connection to their city.”_
Despite scoring the game winning goal in the Carabao Cup final and making history for us, many Toon fans still felt that Isak would leave one day for a club like Real Madrid, Barcelona or PSG.
However, many on Merseyside believed Trent should have stayed with his boyhood club for the rest of his career, having won everything at club level and should have been doing all he can to write his name in Liverpool folklore.
Another key difference between what we saw unfold regarding Trent is that he was leaving on a free at the end of his contract, whilst Isak still has another three years left on his current deal that he signed.
So our owners should be feeling particularly aggrieved that the 25-year-old is on strike over a reported ‘gentleman’s agreement’ when he still has so long left on the deal he previously agreed to.
Alan Shearer has been critical of the way Isak has behaved throughout it all, and some recent comments towards the man who many deemed a worthy ‘successor’ show that hasn’t changed much over the last week.
Speaking on the Rest Is Football, he said: _“There is no comparison between Trent \[joining (Real Madrid as a free agent) & Alexander Isak (trying to force his way out from Newcastle). Trent came to the end of his contract._
_“He didn’t refuse to play or train. He was well within his rights to leave. Alex has 3 years left on his deal!”_
Still with a week to go in the summer window, and the increasing likelihood that an unhappy Isak remains on Tyneside and is slowly reintegrated into the squad, we’re all waiting with baited breath to see how Isak reacts to realising he may be here for the next year…or three.