Wayne Rooney has declared there is ‘no way back’ for Alexander Isak at Newcastle, blasting the forward’s strike action as unacceptable and branding Yoane Wissa’s Instagram stunt at Brentford ‘very disrespectful’.
Isak has gone on strike in an attempt to force through a move to Liverpool after Newcastle rejected a £110million bid earlier this month.
The 25-year-old has refused to train or play for Eddie Howe’s side and broke his silence on Tuesday in a bombshell social-media post, accusing the club of breaking promises and insisting ‘trust is lost’.
Newcastle hit back by stressing no assurances were ever given that Isak could leave, adding that he remains under contract until 2028.
Their stance has since hardened, with sources indicating to Daily Mail Sport that they have no intention of sanctioning his sale before the transfer window closes.
Rooney, speaking before Isak’s statement, said he believes the Sweden forward’s relationship with Newcastle is already beyond repair.
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Wayne Rooney has declared there is ‘no way back’ for Alexander Isak at Newcastle, blasting the striker’s strike action as unacceptable
Alexander Isak Isak has gone on strike in an attempt to force through a move to Liverpool after Newcastle rejected a £110million bid earlier this month
‘If I’m a Newcastle player I don’t want Isak back,’ he on his BBC podcast. ‘I think if players leave football clubs, and that happens all the time, there’s a way to go about it.
‘You can’t go on strike, can’t not turn up for training and train with your team-mates. If you want to leave the club or not, you have to be there for your team-mates and be ready if needed.
‘For me, I don’t think there’s any way back for Isak at Newcastle. I think there are cases where it can happen, but from me as a person, I don’t think I could accept them back. In terms of his team-mates, I wouldn’t want him back.’
Wissa, meanwhile, has also made clear his desire to move by unfollowing Brentford on Instagram, deleting every photo of him playing for the club and changing his profile picture to black.
The forward has been training away from the first-team group and did not feature in their 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Brentford have rejected offers of £30million and £40m from Newcastle and are holding out for closer to £50m.
Sources close to the talks remain hopeful of progress, but Wissa’s camp are frustrated by the delay, with the player having set his heart on a switch to St James’ Park more than three weeks ago.
Rooney believes Wissa’s conduct has placed him in an even worse position than Isak. ‘I think Wissa is in a worse position than Isak is purely for that,’ he said.
Rooney believes Yoane Wissa’s conduct has placed him in an even worse position than Isak
The DR Congo striker dramatically deleted all trace of Brentford from his Instagram profile this week
‘For Wissa to just unfollow the club and take all his pictures down of a club who’ve helped you progress as a player… I think these players are like kids now, or they’re very badly advised in what they’re doing.’
On Wednesday, Daily Mail Sport exclusively revealed that Brentford would prefer to sell Wissa to Tottenham, where he could reunite with his former Bees boss Thomas Frank.
Spurs had explored a part-exchange deal for Eberechi Eze involving Richarlison plus cash and, had that gone through, Wissa was set to become a top target for Frank. But with Eze now joining Arsenal, that scenario looks unlikely.
