Former Sweden international makes huge claim about Alexander Isak's move to Newcastle United that fans will hate
It feels like a lifetime ago now, but it was literally only a matter of months that Alexander Isak could have walked on the River Tyne, such was his popularity among Newcastle United fans.
The Sweden international signed in 2022 for a club record fee of £63 million and became a goal-scoring phenomenon under the direction of Eddie Howe.
Fans fell in love with the sheer coolness of the centre-forward who committed six years of his career to the Magpies when he signed that deal in 2022.
Unfortunately, halfway through that commitment, the striker decided to throw away all of that goodwill and force a move away from the club to Liverpool. The striker refused to travel on the pre-season tour and even went AWOL to train at his old club, Real Sociedad, without informing Eddie Howe. Isak eventually got his wish when the Premier League champions forked out £125 million to bring him to Anfield.
Why sign a six-year deal if we were just a 'stepping stone'?
Now, an ex-international teammate of Isak's, Mikael Lustig, has told Sportbladet in Sweden that he always thought that Newcastle United were a stepping stone for Isak.
“Of course, I’m divided, because I know Isak and know what an incredibly nice and humble guy he is. You might see it a little differently compared to other players you have no relationship with.
“I don’t know if he was promised anything, but Isak is Swedish and came from Real Sociedad. I don’t think he had a dream of playing six years at Newcastle. When he went there, I thought it was a stepping stone for him to the biggest clubs in the world.”
Mikael Lustig believes a rule change may need to come in to curb player power
Lustig went on to say that a rule change could be needed to prevent players from doing what Isak did over the summer.
“Having been in the game for a very long time, I know that unfortunately that’s the way you have to do it if you want to get a transfer.
“I’ve had many teammates who did the opposite, who kept quiet and stayed. Then I’ve had teammates who locked themselves in their hotel rooms and refused to come out, and those players were sold. It will probably take some kind of rule change to get rid of that problem.”
That all begs the question, then, why, if you never had any intention of sticking around for six years, would you sign a six-year deal that had no get-out clauses? This is what really boils our urine. The entire situation was one of his own making, and he still managed to get out of it by essentially kicking and screaming.
