On floor 22 of the Pan Pacific Hotel in downtown Singapore, as Eddie Howe spoke for the first time about his want-away star striker Alexander Isak, it felt like the reality of the situation for Newcastle United and their supporters was crashing all the way to the gilded lobby below.
You see, for Isak to stay at Newcastle, he will need a fat new contract as a minimum.
‘As far as I’m aware, I don’t think there are any contract talks taking place at the moment,’ said Howe.
The penny was by now hurtling towards the lobby. Isak does not want a new contract. He wants to join Liverpool. Newcastle know this and, as Howe tellingly admitted, the club have a decision to make. It is binary, black or white – keep or sell.
And as much as the notion of the latter feels wrong – to owners, Howe, team-mates and supporters – there is also a right time to do so. After three days around Newcastle’s camp, and having been the reporter who broke the story of Isak wanting to go, I believe that time could be now.
Half an hour in the company of Howe has done nothing to change that view, or my opinion on the chances of it happening. It feels more likely than not right now, a thought shared by several team-mates and others here on the ground.
It is better to sell Alexander Isak and reinvest a record fee than keep a man against his wishes
Eddie Howe is realistic enough to know this and will not lie to the supporters on that front
If Newcastle really want to keep Isak then they should offer him a very lucrative contract
When Howe first took the job in 2021, he asked Kevin Keegan for one piece of advice. Keegan told him: ‘Don’t lie to the fans. Tell the truth and they’ll respect you.’
Here, Howe did not lie. It may be that the truth is only gleaned by joining the dots, but Howe has at least given supporters the pen. That has always been his way – no drama, no players thrown for the wheels of the team bus. Rather, quiet honesty.
‘I think with these situations it has to be right for the football club,’ he said. ‘The club will make the right decision with all the information that it has, and ultimately to try and move the club forward in whatever way that is. Then it’s up to us to make good decisions the other way and try and improve the squad as best we can.
‘There’s a whole football club that has to make the decision. The ownership, together with the board of directors, especially with the money involved in modern day transfers. The manager of course has an opinion, but ultimately the decision will rest with the board.’
By revealing the dilemma, he confirmed everything else. The offer from Liverpool has not yet arrived, but when it does – and providing it meets a value approaching £150million – the decision will be made.
This may leave a sour taste, but by walking out of training after only a few minutes on Monday – a truth confirmed by Howe – Isak has effectively ruled himself out of his team’s pre-season preparations. A scan on his thigh came back clear. Again, you can see the dots.
Howe wants him to stay. He wants his player to sign a new contract, be rewarded with the pay cheque he deserves and return to the fold a happy man. But because the manager knows that is probably not going to happen – at least as it stands – he has to manage with realism, not blind optimism.
And the reality that is dawning with each passing sunrise here in the East, is that keeping a player against his wishes is like planting seeds in the sand. It is no way to harvest a happy dressing-room and, by extension, success.
If they sell now, they have time to add more signings – Anthony Elanga is their only expensive arrival so far this summer
Liverpool could table a bid close to £150million for Isak – an astronomical sum, even for this era
If they cave in to Isak, it could set a dangerous precedent for the rest of the squad to follow
Mail Sport can reveal that Nicolas Jackson is one of multiple options Newcastle are looking at
The alternative? Sell at a premium and reinvest. We can reveal that Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson has been added to the list of attacking targets, with Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins also in their thoughts.
A deal for Brentford’s Yoane Wissa is not dead yet and the player is threatening to go on strike to force the move, while an enquiry has been made for Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig.
As for Isak, there was always going to come a day when a star shone too brightly for Newcastle’s orbit, and the truth is that the club probably cannot meet the salary exception of their brightest asteroid. He currently earns around £150k per week and his camp believe he is worth double.
But then, by allowing Isak to leave, it lays a blueprint for others wanting to follow a similar path – hold your thigh and hobble for the dressing-room. This is the conundrum, and it is one fraught with risk.
Bruno Guimaraes sat beside his manager on floor 22 during Saturday’s meeting with media. The captain could have taken the elevator up and down several times and still made it back in time for the first question sent his way. He laughed about that in said elevator afterwards.
He and Howe said they were not distracted by the Isak situation, but when all the talk is about a guy in the North-East during what is supposed to be a promotional tour of the Far East, it is hard not to conclude that this is all very unsettling.
It needs a resolution. If Isak is to stay, the club need to tell him so and get him on a plane out here, with a handsome contract offer to consider mid-flight. If not, a British record fee needs to be negotiated and quickly put back into the squad. Decision time is on the horizon.
Outside the team hotel on Saturday night, there was a fireworks display and military flypast in preparation for Singapore’s 60th birthday. It is seldom quiet around this club, and it is only going to get noisier in the coming days.
