Alexander Isak asking to leave Newcastle United is the worst news PIF could possibly have expected, and all eyes will be on how the club’s owners react.
Isak wants to leave Newcastle this summer and explore his options elsewhere amid Liverpool’s attempts to sign him.
While Newcastle remain in a strong position to keep him as the player still has three years left on his contract, the momentum is now going against PIF.
The Newcastle United owners have insisted all summer that the Sweden international simply isn’t going anywhere.
However, a true test of their resolve has now emerged.
- Who is Alexander Isak? The striker who burned his Newcastle United reputation to force £125m Liverpool transfer
PIF need to make Alexander Isak decision imminently
Newcastle already look rather weak this summer. They cannot seem to sign anybody and now their best player wants to leave.
Isak’s desire to leave is understandable. A new contract has not been forthcoming despite an apparent promise and the riches on offer elsewhere would surely be tempting.
There’s also a wider problem at the club. There have been no appointments at executive level despite a sporting director leaving and a CEO having to step down due to health reasons.
Updates on moves to a new stadium or a new training ground remain few and far between. They don’t appear to be going anywhere despite coming off the best season in living memory.
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Though it’s disappointing to hear Isak wants to go, it’s not particularly surprising.
Clarity has been profoundly lacking from the Newcastle United owners of late. Now, it’s needed more than ever.
Really, there are two options left. Either Newcastle keep Isak like Tottenham did with Harry Kane in 2021 when Manchester City were hovering, or they sell him quickly.
Though losing your best player after winning a cup and qualifying for the Champions League is a terrible look, selling him and not having time to source an adequate replacement or two is even worse.
The idea of Isak leaving any time soon is painful. It’s time to accept that it might happen, however, and the owners cannot afford to act slowly.
The kind of attitude displayed when it comes to the executive appointments, stadium or training ground just cannot fly here. It’s an urgent situation, and decisive action is needed.
Eddie Howe needs to be given the tools to build on Newcastle’s best season in living memory. If that’s with Isak, it needs to be communicated that he’s not going even in the wake of so much external pressure.
If there’s even a slight chance PIF will make a U-turn on their stance that the Sweden international won’t be sold, they must do it quickly and afford the Newcastle United manager the chance to rebuild.
Mike Ashley has already shown PIF what not to do with Alexander Isak
Newcastle have been in this kind of situation before.
On deadline day in January 2011, the club rejected an offer from Liverpool for Andy Carroll. A few hours later, however, former owner Mike Ashley accepted a bid of £35million and sold him when the club had no time to find a replacement.
They ended up signing Shefki Kuqi on a free transfer in their desperate scramble to find a new striker.
Now, the Isak situation is unlikely to get that bad. If he’s not left by deadline day, it seems unlikely he will go. However, what Newcastle do between now and then will go some way to determining just how successful they will be going forward.
If Isak goes soon, it’s disappointing but the season ahead is still salvageable. If he stays and leaves, that would feel palatable at this point.
If he’s kept just to raise more money out of Liverpool and is sold anyway as the new season approaches, then Newcastle risk falling apart.
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