Nobody knows how Alexander Isak’s “situation” will end.
Not me, not you, not even the team leader that I would describe as the largest manager of the 50 years and more I have supported Newcastle United.
Eddie Howe could have been an excellent diplomat, if not for football, as he has constantly proven since he jumped on board the Magpie -Oachtbaan in November 2021, when we went down, deeper and down.
He has been “economically with the current” (to quote a horrible Tory politician, with suitable apologies for borders to tautology) on countless occasions.
Nowadays his words at a press conference in South Korea, however, look like the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth: “We still support Alex in every possible way. My wish is still that we see him in a Newcastle shirt [this coming season]. “
That is good enough for me, although of course there are almost as many opinions about this ‘situation’ when there are sand grains in St Edward’s Bay.
On one extreme we have the person or persons who are unknown, who decided that the correct response was this week to attach a sheet to the training bodemruningen that the legend wear in black spray paint: “Isak is a pure rat”.
I hope this is a minority image, although it is probably supported by hundreds, if not thousands of united supporters who were looking forward to Wembley on 16 March when the “pure rat” did as much as a teammate to deliver a meaningful domestic trophy for the first time in 70 seasons.
To the other extreme are those who believe our top scorer, the only player who hits 20-plus goals for the mags in successive Premier League seasons, has done nothing wrong and a lot of good. I’m in that camp. Most supporters are probably in between.
Disapped is the most important accusation with which some fans are determined to beat Isak. To which my reaction would be: “Loyalty among elite footballers is just as common as an ice cube in a greenhouse.”
Newcastle United was the fifth club of Isak when he was bought from Real Sociedad in August 2022 for an alleged £ 63 million. The moment he was short for a month for his 23rd birthday and three full seasons in San Sebastian on the north coast of Spain.
He had signed on July 1, 2015 for his hometown of Swedish club, Aik, when he was only 15. After a record -breaking 18 months he was picked up by Borussia Dortmund, our old German friends. Their manager, Little Tommy Tuchel, was reportedly not involved in the decision to recruit the 17-year-old.
There were few chances between Dortmund, even after Tuchel had left six months later. That is why the loan switched to Willem II in the Netherlands for the second half of the 2018-19 season, where Isak 13 scored goals from 15 Starts in the Eridivisie.
All this factual background must be considered before the fans of United judge him nothing more than rumor, gossip and completely tripe as evidence. Five clubs before he was 23, five competitions in five countries. He was at Aik from the age of six.
The club for whom he has made the most performances and scored the most goals is Newcastle United. Three full seasons, first competing against Callum Wilson for one central triker berth, despite the fact that he was the record signing of the club. He can now lose that record to Benjamin Sesko every day, but if this turns out to be a one-in, one-out transfer saga, the RB Leipzig striker will cut out its work to improve Isak.
Sesko must be considered a replacement for Wilson, not for our Super Swede. We need at least two established top strikers, how promising Will Osula has been. That would be true, even without the minimum of eight Champions League matches in addition to the three domestic games in 2025-26.
That old expression “Don’t Shoot the Messenger” is attributed to Shakespeare, although he probably swallowed the sentiment of Sophocles, a really old Greek.
I am going to contradict old will and even older Sophocles, because neither of them could have foreseen the kind of scurrilous messengers who now inhabit our universe. Because I am charitable, I believe that 24-hour rolling ‘news’, online ‘journalism’ and other recent developments have received the field for those who want to write well-investigated and honest articles. If you don’t like the heat, go out of the kitchen.
My knowledge with sports journalism and journalism is almost as long as my love for the mags. While we are about to match a Golden Age to match the 1950s, the opposite is the case for today’s media.
Bob Dylan sang memorable in the 1970s:
‘Someone has it for me
They plant stories in the press
Whoever it is, I wish they would cut it out soon
But if they will do that, I can only guess. ‘
I am not aware of Mr. Zimmerman’s interest in football, but his words seem particularly appropriate for the “situation” of Alexander Isak.
There is a short summary here, with apologies for repeating the waste dumped by our friends in the media.
Isak has gone in strike. Isak has rejected an range of £ 200,000 a week to stay. ISAK is fucking. Isak has already agreed the conditions of an offer of £ 300,000 a week from Liverpool. Isak has been unhappy in Newcastle for months.
Believe all of that and you can be tempted to reach the sheet and spray paint.
Before you do that, consider proof of your own eyes instead of the rumor mill, where evidence seems striking due to its absence.
The only relevant explanation I have seen is one for the first time published in Saudi Aarabia (OH, the irony) two weeks ago, in which Gonzalo Gaitan, one of the agents of Isak, reportedly said: “We are indeed studying and analyzing all options, and we can close the next step for the player.”
That reads me as an attempt by the agent to stimulate the bank balance of his and his player. Nothing more, nothing less. You can interpret it in a hundred ways.
With the risk of hypocrisy, without more information than any other source, but, more importantly, without ax to grind, here is my opinion …
Alexander Isak is tired of plowing a lonely forward in St James’ park, often when he is less than 100% fit. A blind man who galloped through a big fog would have noticed his lack of sharpness in the second half of the season. Regardless of whether he was offered/promised a wage increase last year, he cannot be happy with the lack of support on the field.
He wants further success and must be aware of the increasing attention he receives from opponents who are their best hope to stop United to stop Isak.
I saw those courageous FA Cup winners in Crystal Palace kicking him in submission after 22 minutes last November. We have not managed any attempts on target that day. Four days later, Isak scored what I consider as the goal of the season against Liverpool, the first of 12 in 13 games.
Give the man a break, a wage increase, a new contract, an additional striker. Give him a reason what he wants. Isak seems like a decent and honest individual. He deserves admiration and respect, not pathetic abuse.
#view #Alexander #Isak