‘Let him rot’ - Mike Ashley casualty sends PIF strong Alexander Isak message
The Alexander Isak transfer saga continues to rumble on and cause a distratcion at Newcastle United.
Sam Allardyce has told the Newcastle United ownership to “be bold” in their stance over Alexander Isak.
In what has become the biggest transfer saga of the summer, the Swede has downed tools to pursue a St James’ Park exit. Isak has not kicked a ball for Newcastle in pre-season - much to the fury of supporters as three years remain on his contract.
Eddie Howe has taken a diplomatic approach to the situation, hinting at the ball being in Isak’s court while refusing to bury him publicly. However, former Toon boss Allardyce - the first casualty of the Mike Ashley era - would not have been as forgiving.
Sam Allardyce on Alexander Isak
“It’s a three-year contract he’s still got left,” he told the Tippy Tappy Football podcast. “If he only had one year left, Liverpool wouldn’t be offering what they’re offering. The value of the player is not only in his football, but also in the length of his contract. If you let him get to the last year, you’ve wasted your time.
“I don’t like saying it, but it’s true, there’s too much power on the player and the agent's side. That’s what’s caused all this. We have to try and change something with the amount of money that gets bandied about. We need one owner to be bold enough and say to a player ‘I’m going to destroy your career’ and let them sit there and rot.
“If Isak stays and scores the winner in a couple of games, then it’s all finished. Football fans are fickle. I’ve had fans call me on the radio saying ‘he’s this, he’s that’, if he goes on the pitch and scores the winner, it’s all forgiven.”
Alan Shearer on Alexander Isak
Speaking to The Sports Agents podcast, Toon icon Shearer defended Howe as he hit out at Isak for his pre-season no-show. He said: “There are so many moving parts to it, but it's still not a good look for him or for Newcastle. You have to feel sorry for Eddie Howe. I mean, his plans have been thrown right up into the air.
“He's going into the first game of the season without one of if not his best player, certainly his best forward, through no fault of his own. I don't think it's helped that Newcastle haven't got a chief executive or a director of football. I don't know whether that's been a hindrance in trying to get players in, whether they've not been able to get answers or a lack of communication, I don't know. But that isn't a good look either.”
“When a player wants to leave, it can become very difficult, and there are ways to do it. And at the minute, I don't think, and many, many thousands of Newcastle fans don't think, that he's doing it the right way. There are ways to go about trying to get out of a football club. Refusing to play and not going on trips is not the right way to do that - and it's not a good look.”
“No, there's been no change to the situation,” Howe admitted to reporters yesterday. “All my focus has been on the training, on Aston Villa, on the transfer front in terms of trying to get players in. “And you can imagine that that is all-consuming for me. So Alex's situation has been unchanged for a while and that will continue to be the case, I think.”
When asked if Howe had asked Isak to play against Villa, he replied: “I think those conversations, of course I've said many times during this summer I want him to play, I want him to train and of course I've had those conversations with him, but I think the details of those conversations need to remain private.”