Alexander Isak will remain a Newcastle player next season because nobody can afford to buy him.
That is the view of former Magpies defender John Anderson amid frenzied speculation over the Sweden international’s future on Tyneside following his absence from the club’s first pre-season friendly at Celtic on Saturday.
The 25-year-old striker hit the headlines once again last week when Premier League champions Liverpool indicated they would be prepared to offer £120million – around £30m shy of Newcastle’s hands-off valuation – for him should he become available.
However, Anderson told the PA news agency: “Once you’ve got good players and you’ve got very, very good players, they’re always going to be linked with other teams. That’s always been the nature of the game and that’s never, ever going to go away.
“I just don’t think anybody at this moment in time can afford Isak and that’s the truth of it.
“There’s a lot of speculation about whether he’s going to sign a new contract and have the club offered him a new contract – I don’t think the boy is in any hurry to sign a new contract because he’s got three years left on his present deal.
“Why would he be?”
Head coach Eddie Howe revealed after the 4-0 defeat at Celtic Park that Isak had been sent home from Glasgow after a pre-season training camp in Austria because he was never going to play any part in the game as he manages his return from a groin injury. Howe did not want him sitting in the stands as the rumours gathered pace, despite his club’s insistence that he is simply not for sale.
Anderson said: “It’s a high-profile game, the champions of Scotland against a side that’s qualified for the Champions League, but I think all the speculation would have been about Isak sitting in the stand rather than being focused on the game.”
The former Republic of Ireland defender, who now covers the Magpies’ games as a co-commentator for BBC Radio Newcastle, has witnessed Isak’s meteoric rise since his £63m arrival from Real Sociedad during the summer of 2022 and knows how vital his retention is.
He said: “Oh God, he’s huge. It’s okay getting whatever you get for him, but how do you replace a player like that? That’s the bottom line.
“You’ve got all the money in the world, yes, but can you get a player in who can do what he does?”
Anderson played alongside Kevin Keegan and Peter Beardsley at St James’ Park and watched Alan Shearer scored a record 206 goals for the club and he believes Isak is a special talent.
He said: “Shearer was a great out-and-out goalscorer, but this boy has got everything. Not only does he score goals, but he creates goals, he makes space for other people, he frightens the life out of defenders with his movement.
“And at the age that he’s at, he’s still got his prime years ahead of him. He’s only going to get better.”
