There’s one reason Alexander Isak’s decision is baffling, Newcastle United fans deserve an answer

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Alexander Isak has decided he wants to leave Newcastle United, but something does not add up.

The 25-year-old sent Newcastle United fans into panic mode when it emerged he was not travelling to Asia. The worst was still to come, with news then breaking that Isak wants to leave Newcastle.

It is a staggering situation, as Newcastle weigh up possible Isak replacements. They obviously want to keep the striker at St James’ Park, but the prospect of him leaving suddenly feels more likely than ever.

However, there is one key part of the Alexander Isak situation that simply does not make sense.

• Who is Alexander Isak? The striker who burned his Newcastle United reputation to force £125m Liverpool transfer

Alexander Isak’s Newcastle United decision comes at completely the wrong time

Talk of Isak leaving Newcastle United is not new. In truth, it has been driving Toon fans mad for a long time.

With that in mind, the question for Isak has to be: Why now?

It seems baffling that now is the moment for Isak to decide he wants to leave Newcastle United this summer.

This can hardly be a kneejerk reaction. He must have had these feelings for a while. In that case, why did this not come out at the start of the summer? And that is more for Isak’s sake than Newcastle United’s!

He will know he is going to cost a lot of money. Any club that is buying him will pay more than £100million. It will not be an easy deal to do, so why did Isak not give himself a better chance at securing a move?

From the perspective of Isak and his representatives, it is extremely strange that they have waited until now to declare their intentions.

Liverpool gave Alexander Isak the chance to signal his intent

Surely the perfect moment for Isak to declare he wanted to leave was when Liverpool officially registered their interest.

Alas, there was no speculation that Isak wanted to join Liverpool. Instead, it was made clear that Newcastle were not selling Isak.

In response, Liverpool bought Ekitike. While the suggestion is that they can afford Isak too, there are no guarantees that they will splash the cash on the Sweden international. It certainly feels less likely now that Ekitike is at Anfield.

In terms of other suitors, who is there that could sign him? Arsenal have got Viktor Gyokeres, while Chelsea have bought Joao Pedro and Liam Delap. Manchester United would love Isak, but they are not even in the Champions League.

Overseas, a superstar striker is not on Real Madrid’s agenda, while Barcelona have just added Marcus Rashford to their attack. A move to La Liga feel unlikely.

His best option could be Saudi Arabia, with Al-Hilal interested. At the age of 25, is a move to the Saudi Pro League the best thing for Isak’s career? Of course it isn’t!

Isak may want to leave Newcastle United, but the reality is that he might not. Timing is everything, and it feels like Isak’s representatives have got it all wrong.