Isak - What's the Club Doing?
Scott Robson is alarmed by Eales' comments on the Swede's future.
What do Ukrainian minerals and Alexander Isak have in common?
Firstly, both are in demand and secondly, every sociopath with an internet connection is trying to say who should get their grubby hands on them. Thirdly, it feels like, in the end, the ‘Big dog’ gets what they want and the posturing on all sides is the preamble to dirty money winning out in the end.
We have all seen over the last few months the depths sports TV and radio (Sky, BT and Talksport) will go in showing Isak the way to Amarillo. Arsenal need a striker and Isak is scoring goals so let's try and disrupt our opponents in the League Cup Semi Final by putting two and two together to equal 386. It backfired hilariously as Isak made Arsenal look like fools twice, before putting his big headphones on and heading home to walk the dogs.
So far so spurious. It happens all the time. Former champions use media leverage earned over a good few years to good effect. The rumours have suddenly moved up the country to Merseyside just in time for a League Cup Final in a week or so.
A clue. It's not Everton or Tranmere we are talking about here.
What we have seen this week, though, shows Newcastle United actually heartily endorse all this lark. Newcastle would do well to do what England did not do in the Cricket Champions Trophy last week - play it with a straight bat.
Instead when I picked up my morning paper today, Eales produced a response to the baseless rumours by well, talking about them quite a bit
Eddie Howe would have just looked the reporter in the eye (even Craig Hope) and gave them that “Fuck right off and don’t ever ask that again” look. He's a master at it, whether the question is about if Almirón is staying or whether Tindall’s tan is real.
Howe would have been right. Why are we even getting involved in this? Newcastle aren't wet behind the ears, this non saga is going to get used and brought out whenever the board are needing some slack cut. Mark my words.
The financial results this week brought about the rounds of interviews and Eales virtually came out and said that we are at the next level down from the teams rumoured to be after Isak.
This is maybe correct in financial terms, he's got a point, but it's a far cry from the rabble rousing days of Staveley and the whipping of the likes of Silverstone from one of the clubs involved.
It sits very nicely in the narrative for us and if the end game is that Isak leaves, you can bet your Mags membership we get the “we tried but we aren't at that level yet”. And if he stays and signs a contract, it’s seen as a sign we are feeding at as Eales said “the top table”.
Meanwhile, as this non story is happening, the owners and the people high up at the club don’t have to field hard questions about us hitting a real brick wall in progress in training grounds, new stadia, season ticket rises (still nothing even though my direct debit starts in a fortnight) and the complete neglect of a creaking squad over countless windows.
Make no mistake Newcastle will use their prize asset with aplomb.
What of Isak then?
The simple fact of the matter is that Isak was signed for £63m in 2022 and has THREE years left on his contract . Post Bosman and mad long term contracts dished out by Chelsea in the aftermath of that takeover mean contracts now appear to be running in dog years and three years is now like he is running down his contract. He's not.
Newcastle don’t deal like that. If they did, he would have signed a seven-year deal to start with. The only time we’ve freaked out and let a player go just into a contract was Lloyd Kelly and as the old lady's buyers’ remorse gets worse by the game, after we ‘cinched’ them, there were reasons for that.
Isak’s future currently isn't a thing. At least it shouldn't be. Whatsoever. No excuse for anyone commenting on wild rumours started on a YouTube channel. Unless it suits us down to the ground.
Isak, for his part, is in a great position. He knows fine well he's a modern day pawn in the machine. He's doing the same. He actually holds all the aces. He's a good player.
Is he great though?
If you think, the market value is thus. Osimhen £100m. Alvarez £90m. Dhuran £77m. We paid £63m for him, so it's fair to say £120-140m isn't out of the question here. None of those players are bona fide great players and neither is Isak, yet.
His goal record is very very good and he's one of the best finishers I have ever seen play for Newcastle, but he's also prone to drifting in and out of games. Not Haaland style drifting (i.e. he does nothing then scores) he just sometimes goes really out of games if it's not going our way.
When we signed Isak it was a massive gamble. He had a go at a big club when he was younger, and for myriad reasons, it didn't work out. I didn't see anyone paying what we paid then. His injury record red flagged up on every algorithm worth its salt and now the same rules apply, for different reasons though.
Which club can afford to buy Isak this far away from his contract ending?
The two teams mentioned couldn’t unless they sold a prize asset or dumped a load of squad players on us. Not likely, as you don't see teams at the top table chomping on a Nunez or Havertz unless they are desperate.
Paris Saint Germain, yeah maybe, but just no. I'd like to think the player has more ambition and the geopolitical state backers of the clubs involved means they would probably prefer Isak to go for nothing than go there.
Some would say me writing this piece is also commenting on a non story, but I'm merely pointing out United knows exactly what they are doing here, and this will run and run and become an even bigger story as long as the club wants it to be.
Qualifying for the Champions League will help keep Isak no doubt, but that seems unlikely as it stands. If we do fail to qualify, Isak is unlikely to just up sticks and go, and if he does, the club will then say they couldn't and wouldn't stand in his way.
We currently have the player so let’s just ignore the noise and stop playing games. Let Isak do his talking on the pitch and let the higher echelons of the club give us a clear plan for the club in the next few years.
As a fan of a club in the “next category down” that's all I ask…
Scott Robson
I understand your article is mainly around the noise surrounding Isak and the politics involved, Scott. However, you’re wrong about Isak. He is great. Undoubtedly.
Great players score consistently in big games. And against the biggest teams. Isak is the only player we’ve had for years who does this. Every fan in the country wants him at their club. Every team he plays against is shit scared of him. He’s irreplaceable.
We all know that without him at Wembley we’re only going for the day out. If he starts, we all know we can win it because Liverpool know he’s good enough to breach even their defence; doing it consistently.
He’s a great player. Mark my words.
Whoa there horsey!
Chief Executive Darren Eales is interviewed and asked about Isak. What he ACTUALLY SAID was:
“We’re not under the gun to sell any of our key players – it would be crazy to consider it. We know he’s a world class player and others covet him. But it’s annoying because it’s almost as if we’re seen as a club in the next category down and it’s fair game to talk about our players leaving.
We hope to be in Europe next season. That’s our aim; it gives us the revenue and the profile. We’d love to win a trophy too. We’re striving to be at the top table. We’ve got a great coach in Eddie Howe so the future is bright. The fact we’re in our second Carabao Cup final in three years and two points off a Champions League place show we’re growing but it’s frustrating in the sense that our progress since our takeover could have been quicker if things were different. PSR in its current form is challenging.”
Eales doesn’t say we are a club in the next category down. He says it’s annoying that OTHERS ALMOST SEE US A CLUB IN THE NEXT CATEGORY DOWN.
I don’t read that as Eales endorsing all the rumours about Isak. In fact I read it as exactly what you hoped for( “Fuck right off”), but said in a more diplomatic Chief Executive sort of way. When we’re all looking for positivity he also confirmed:
a new training ground WILL be built;
it would be crazy to sell any key players;
they are not under the gun to sell anyone;
they want to be in Europe;
they want to win a trophy;
they’re striving to be at the top table;
they have a great coach in Eddie Howe;
the future is bright;
we’re in our second final in 3 years;
are 2 points off a champions league place;
and progresss would have been quicker without PSR.
I’d say that was a pretty positive interview overall.
We all want our club to progress and we all have ideas, thoughts and opinions on how that might be achieved. But misrepresenting what Darren Eales said isn’t the way to do it.