A Newcastle United transfer expert has confirmed that Alexander Isak is ‘on strike’, with the wantaway striker advised by his camp to avoid ‘showing any signs of weakness’.
Isak is pushing for a move to Liverpool despite helping Newcastle win the Carabao Cup and qualify for the Champions League last season.
The Reds have failed with a £110million bid for the 25-year-old, who scored 23 goals in 34 games in the Premier League last season.
A second offer hasn’t been made as Newcastle continue to struggle to sign a replacement. They had targeted RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, but he joined Manchester United instead.
Isak hasn’t been training with his team-mates as the transfer saga goes on, and he will miss the Magpies’ Premier League opener at Aston Villa on Saturday as a result.
MAILBOX: Alexander Isak told ‘you signed a contract my dude’ as buy-out clauses mooted
His Newcastle career looks over, and Newcastle expert Craig Hope says Isak will be fined by his employers for the first time when he misses a competitive match this weekend.
Hope adds that Isak has been advised by his camp to stand firm and avoid showing ‘any sign of weakness’, with the Geordies willing to reintegrate him into the team and offer him a new contract.
Newcastle would give the Swede their word that he can leave next summer, or include a release clause in a new contract, but as things stand, the player wants to join Liverpool and nothing will change his mind.
Isak is being heavily influenced by his agent, Vlado Lermic, who sees this transfer as his ‘last big deal before winding down at 60’, it is claimed.
The club’s hierarchy believes that ‘the most viable avenues have been all but exhausted’, but a door they’re willing to leave ‘wide open’ is ‘allowing Isak to return to training and playing’, which is described as ‘Scenario A’.
What Newcastle have been working on over the past two months is ‘Scenario B’, which is to ‘sign the players that would act as a palatable replacement for the Swede and then negotiate a sale that would extract maximum value’.
‘Scenario C’, Hope says, is ‘becoming more likely with each passing day’. It is that ‘Isak stays against his wishes and the club gamble on him returning to the squad post-September 1’.
As for ‘Scenario D’, it’s claimed that Newcastle could sell Isak and try and survive until January with current player Anthony Gordon and Yoane Wissa – who’s move from Brentford ‘is expected in the coming week’ – as Eddie Howe’s two centre-forwards.
It’s anyone’s guess what will happen, but what is for sure is that Isak is currently ‘on strike’ and this situation is one hell of a mess.