Newcastle United are now facing only two ways to resolve the tense situation with striker Alexander Isak: either selling him, or pushing him down to play for the youth team.
According to former coach Sam Allardyce, the Swedish striker has cleverly put the club in a passive position. Isak made it difficult for the board to find a solution that was both profitable in terms of expertise and ensured the transfer value.
Isak has now stopped training with the first team and confirmed that he will not play for Newcastle anymore, regardless of how the 2025 summer transfer ends. However, the deal is still at a standstill, after Newcastle declared that their star striker is not for sale.
Liverpool sent Isak a £110m offer earlier this month but were immediately rejected. Currently, they do not seem to return to the negotiation table unless Newcastle turns the green light on them. However, the "Magpies" have not recruited any striker to replace Isak.
Newcastle are keeping an eye on Yoane Wissa, who has also temporarily stopped training with Brentford. However, this seems to be a goal independent of Isak's story. Newcastle parted ways with Callum Wilson after his contract expired at the beginning of the summer, making their attack even more fragile.
Isak - who has scored 62 goals in 109 appearances for Newcastle - still has 3 years left on his contract. According to Sam Allardyce, the leadership of the Northeast team will have to be much tougher if they want to keep one of their most valuable assets.
"Sell him. I will sell him and get the highest price possible. Once a player is determined to leave and has no choice but to maintain his stance, it is difficult to change the situation.
I think if he stays away, the only thing you can do is stop paying him. But clearly no one will win at that time," said Sam Allardyce.
Newcastle are expected to punish Isak if he is absent from the Premier League opener, in the context that this striker has publicly expressed his desire to move to Liverpool. The Swedish international will receive a penalty from his club for refusing to play, which directly affected the match against Aston Villa.
Coach Eddie Howe admitted that the current situation has disrupted Newcastle's pre-season preparation process. "I think the spirit of the whole team has certainly been affected since the beginning of the season. I can't do anything to change that, it's always there.
When you have such a quality player but he is not in the squad, the other players will be confused about the whole situation, as well as confused about the development of the incident and the appropriate reaction" - said the English captain.
Newcastle will open the 2025-2026 Premier League campaign with a trip to Aston Villa's Villa Park.
