Sweden boss Jon Dahl Tomasson aims dig at Newcastle United when discussing Alexander Isak's fitness
Liverpool finally got their man on transfer deadline day after a summer-long saga of trying to pry Alexander Isak away from Newcastle United. Meanwhile, Newcastle brought in Yoane Wissa from Brentford on the same day.
Both players had chosen the dark side when they opted to leave their respective clubs, choosing to go on strike until their wishes were granted.
We fully accept the hypocrisy involved when it comes to welcoming Yoane Wissa to the club after mimicking what Alexander Isak had done and been crucified for, but it's always worth noting that the circumstances were very different in terms of where both were in their careers and in their contracts and the severity with which they employed their dirty tactics.
Wissa did return to training with Brentford, albeit he stuck by his decision not to actually play for them again, and it was likely those training sessions that made Newcastle comfortable enough to allow Wissa to represent DR Congo a couple of days after signing.
Newcastle allowed Yoane Wissa to represent DR Congo hours after signing for the club
That ultimately proved to be a mistake after Wissa, who had scored two goals and assisted one in the one and a half games he'd played for his country, picked up an injury during that second match. That injury was set to keep him out for four to five weeks, but it is now looking more like an eight-week layoff after a setback.
Meanwhile, Alexander Isak's fitness, while fit enough to play, is still in the toilet, and he's unable to affect games like he did for Newcastle.
Jon Dahl Tomasson is understanding of that situation, though, and is happy to help nurture him back to full fitness, praising Liverpool for their approach while using Newcastle as an example of what not to do.
Keep your beak out, Tomassson
Speaking to the media ahead of Sweden's upcoming World Cup Qualifiers against Switzerland and Kosovo, the former Toon striker took an unnecessary swipe at his former club (via The Chronicle).
"We can't change the situation (with Isak), I'm just happy that Liverpool are doing the same thing I would have done.
"You can see what Newcastle did with Yoane Wissa, who came in instead of Isak. He played international matches with Congo straight away and is now injured. He is still injured.
"That's also a reason why we couldn't play him so much last month. We need a good Isak this month and next month. That's how we plan, while Liverpool have done really well."
As we said, the circumstances were very different in that Wissa had been training with Brentford before his move. Obviously, it's easy to say Newcastle got it wrong in hindsight, but given Wissa isn't Swedish and Jon Dahl Tomasson isn't Newcastle boss, we're not sure why he had to drag us into it.
