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Alexander Isak is rolling the dice, and his desperate hope is that the numbers land on a British-record move to Liverpool and a lucrative, double-your-money contract.
Sources close to the situation believe his bombshell statement, released on Tuesday night, is the striker’s response to a growing realisation that the door has been closing on his dream transfer.
But what it has achieved, Daily Mail Sport has been told, is that it will now slam that door shut from Newcastle United’s perspective. The statement has not been well received.
The club have pursued alternatives to Isak all summer. Had one of Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, Hugo Ekitike or Benjamin Sesko been signed, Newcastle would have explored his sale. Sources believe a deal in the region of £130million plus add-ons would, in the end, have seen an agreement reached between them and Liverpool.
However, with each passing day and target gone, that likelihood has decreased. As recently as Tuesday, I had a conversation in which it was said the chances of a sale were remote, yet not completely off the table. Club insiders still maintained they ‘did not know’ how the saga would play out.
It would now appear that Isak has brought an end to it, but not in the manner he intended. That is the message Daily Mail Sport has received from inside St James’ Park.
The door is closing on Alexander Isak’s dream move to Liverpool from Newcastle
Isak released the above bombshell statement on Tuesday night – it has not been well received
Eddie Howe’s wish has always been to reintegrate Isak into his squad, believing it would be possible if the transfer deadline passed with him still on Tyneside. That challenge has now got a whole lot harder, after Isak went public with claims of ‘broken relationships’ and ‘broken promises’.
But what is mystifying those close to the club is that his relationships with Howe, the coaching staff and his team-mates have never been broken, and nor have there been promises of allowing him to leave.
His gripe, they assume, is the withdrawal of what he believed was a contract promise made by former co-owner Amanda Staveley in spring of last year. She believed Isak was worth and was owed a pay increase, even if an offer was never made or the finer details discussed.
When Staveley left Newcastle, against her wishes, and a new hierarchal structure was formed, new sporting director Paul Mitchell told Isak and his camp the club would not discuss a deal because he had four years to run and was already among the top earners.
This was true, but Staveley’s thinking was that a new contract would keep Isak happy, reward his performance and avoid a scenario such as the one that has played out this summer.
Mitchell left the club in June of this year. So, when Isak says trust has gone, does he mean with former employees? This has baffled many.
It is said that Isak resented missing out on a year’s worth of extra money, and that his mind was long since made up on wanting to move on.
There were also what he thought were broken promises of a sporting nature, relating to investment in the squad and infrastructure. Insiders, coming out of last season, understood his stance and there was even some sympathy among some.
Eddie Howe’s preference has been to reintegrate Isak into the Newcastle squad
But the manner in which he has attempted to force his way out of a club who have helped develop him into one of the world’s best strikers has left a very sour taste. There is now said to be a divide among the players – those who support him, and those who don’t.
That feeling is part of the reason why Newcastle have made offers on several strikers who could have acted as his replacement. There was an acceptance that for Isak to move on could be best for all parties.
But while this statement feels like him clutching at straws, there is a likelihood it proves to be the one that broke the camel’s back from the standpoint of his club – they will not be bulled into a sale.
In a summer of many missteps from the player and his camp, this could be the biggest of all.
