Bombshell Alexander Isak claims - Disgraceful details leaked on Newcastle saga

Football is a dirty business and there are always two sides to a story. The briefing around Alexander Isak's departure has begun in earnest and we now have the Newcastle United version of events.

Luke Edwards of The Telegraph has detailed his understanding of the chronology that led to Isak joining Liverpool, and it is explosive. It should be noted that Edwards has steadfastly stuck to the line that Isak would not be sold since before the summer until the day before it happened, so he may be feeling bruised by the outcome. However, there is no reason to disbelieve his version of events as one of the best connected and most experienced journalists covering Newcastle.

The claim is that as far back as May 2024 when Newcastle were in PSR strife Isak was unsettled, and his agent started offering him around Europe.

By July 2024 Isak and his representatives were advised that contract talks (previously promised by the departed Amanda Staveley) would be postponed to 2025 due to Newcastle's financial position. This is apparently the point where Isak said he would leave (this is disputed by Newcastle). Howe was aware that Isak was unsettled and then felt compelled to pull Isak into line after a miserable performance at Fulham, where he deemed Isak had been 'sulking' for a number of months. This man management tactic evidently worked as Isak hit his best form across the Christmas period and then publicly stated his happiness, dismissing suggestions he may want to leave.

The real issues started after the cup final victory in the spring of 2025. The idea is that some within the club believed Isak was 'behaving and playing like someone who did not want the team to qualify for the Champions League, as he knew it would make it harder for him to explain to Howe and the supporters why he wanted to go'. This is an extraordinary claim.

The next revelation (confirmed by Eddie Howe over the summer) was that Isak discussed his future with Howe two weeks before the end of the season. he was reportedly told he wasn't for sale, and no assurances were given to him. On the contrary the club tried to negotiate a new contract with Isak including a pay rise and release clause of between £120 - 130m in summer 2026, which his agent declined. It is at this point Newcastle started to become mindful of the precedent if they sold Isak for less than their £150m asking price.

By June, Newcastle still felt they could talk Isak around despite his agent's ongoing assertions he would leave. They tried and failed to sign 'competition' for him, but there was a power vacuum at the top of the club following Mitchell's departure, which meant Howe had to deal directly with Isak's agent.

Howe decided by July that he would leave communications up to the Newcastle board and keep his distance from the situation, aware as he was that he still had to manage the player, although by this point Isak's behaviour had escalated. Firstly, he pulled out of pre-season and went to train by himself, unauthorised, in Spain. Then his representatives, in an effort to cause 'maximum damage', leaked Isak's desire to 'explore his options' while Newcastle were flying to Asia, which blindsided Howe and everyone else at the club.

Liverpool finally made an official transfer bid of £110m in early August which was swiftly rejected. Newcastle tried and failed again to sign some strikers, and Isak told Howe he would only rejoin the group if Liverpool withdrew their interest. Then Isak released his incendiary statement which Newcastle were compelled to respond to.

Jamie Reuben and a PIF delegation visited Isak at home on the day of the Liverpool game as one last throw of the dice to try and persuade him to sign a new contract, but it became clear at that point that he wouldn't back down, and Newcastle started seriously to countenance selling him for the first time. Howe and Reuben weren't sure which way PIF would decide to go, and ultimately, they determined that the damage was such that it was in the club's interests to sanction a move. By this time Nick Woltemade had signed and there was encouragement from Brentford that a deal for Yoane Wissa was possible.

The cold 37-word statement released by Newcastle announcing Isak's sale spoke volumes about what the club thought about Isak's conduct.

There is a lot to digest here, and it should be viewed in the knowledge that it is one perspective and other opinions are available, but the overwhelming conclusion based both on this and the evidence of his actions can only be that Isak (and his representatives) have willingly torched his legacy and behaved in such a way that his position at Newcastle was untenable. He simply had to go.

This type of behaviour is expected from agents (who are after maximum financial return for themselves), but it is shocking and upsetting that a player who achieved what he did and said what he did around the time of the cup final could not have found it within himself to remain professional and respectful throughout the process, albeit his actions were 'justified' as he ultimately got his own way (which in itself sets a dangerous precedent - it should be lost on nobody that Newcastle benefitted from similar shenanigans in signing Yoane Wissa).

Anybody who watched Isak's performances at the start and end of last season could be in no doubt that he wasn't playing well, but it is confronting in the extreme to read that insiders believed this was due to his attitude and motivation rather than his fitness. There have to be serious questions asked about his absence at Arsenal - a game which coincided with him reportedly telling Howe that he wanted to leave. It is astonishing that a professional footballer may have decided not to play in such a vital game, but unfortunately the timing make it seem probable that this is exactly what happened. Why was this conversation even allowed to occur at such a critical point of the season?

Newcastle have come in for some criticism for their handling of this, from broken promises by now departed executives to perceived weakness at caving to the bully boy tactics of Liverpool, but if this report is to be believed it is difficult to find too much fault with their actions - they factored in the financial reality of the situation and then offered new contracts several times which would have protected both club and player. They tried hard (and belatedly succeeded) to sign replacements, and they concluded that a British transfer record sale was appropriate given the lengths Isak had gone to in order to ensure his departure.

Perhaps there are some lessons about naivety when dealing with superstars and their agents, and well documented challenges of a failed executive and operational structure which need to be resolved, but it seems Isak's mind was made up regardless.

Thankfully this sorry saga is now over, and Newcastle have done some excellent squad refreshment. However, the long-term consequences of this remain to be seen. One sad outcome not in dispute is that one of Newcastle's cup winners and best ever players will be reviled forever more. It feels like it didn't have to end this way.