Every week the Magpies striker doesn’t play the situation gets more complicated
Yasir Al-Rumayyan was asked if he was sure, if that was really the message he wanted to convey on camera.
There is an army of advisers and intermediaries for the governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Apparently a few gulped when Al-Rumayyan appeared on an Amazon documentary about Newcastle United in 2023 and said he wanted the club to be “No 1”, knowing the message that would send.
Isak has been training away from his teammates (Photo: Getty)
But ultimately he is his own man and that deliberate decision to set those lofty goals should perhaps inform some of the machinations of arguably the most important summer yet under PIF ownership.
Nothing about the approach Newcastle have taken with Alexander Isak is personal or emotional.
Reports have detailed shock, hurt and anger at the Isak soap opera, but for PIF and those right at the top, it is about business.
This is what many misunderstand about Newcastle’s owners.
The Premier League scrambled to rewrite its rulebook when PIF took over, rival ownership groups assuming it would look to disrupt as it did with LIV Golf.
Even as recently as this weekend, prominent bloggers were taking PIF’s lack of challenge of profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) as proof that it wasn’t committed.
But PIF sources say working within those rules is part of what it signed up for.
Eddie Howe hopes to reintegrate him into the squad (Photo: Getty)
PIF works within layers of governance itself.
It is an investment fund, not an outlier for a radical rewriting of football’s rules.
Do not expect it to mount legal challenges to PSR, it simply won’t happen.
The same is true of the notion that the Saudi Pro League (SPL) can be leveraged to help the club or that Ivan Toney can be manoeuvred out of Al-Ahli to help Newcastle’s cause as they search for a striker.
For a start, the SPL is administered by the ministry of sport.
But secondly, the part of the fund that runs its Saudi clubs is autonomous from the section that deals with Newcastle.
That set-up means that back-scratching deals simply aren’t possible.
Isak is chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan’s favourite player (Photo: Getty)
PIF’s attitude on Isak is similarly black and white.
There is a valuation – possibly even in excess of £150m given his contract situation – and if it isn’t met there is no chance of him leaving.
That there are other conditions – signing a proper like-for-like replacement – means it was never going to be a straightforward deal this summer, as Isak and his agents have known all along.
Does that mean Liverpool weren’t entitled to give it a go? No.
Newcastle’s PSR situation requires a big sale, and fairly soon. If Isak stays now, someone will go in the future.
Generating a huge amount of PSR wiggle room is the only way – along with turbocharging commercial revenue – that they get anywhere close to “No 1”.
But they have to do it in their own time and when they know it will make them better.
Unlike the established elite, Newcastle’s PSR position means they won’t get much room for error when it comes to reinvesting cash from the sale of Isak or other big players.
They have to have a proper succession plan in place, which they have attempted and failed to construct with rejections from Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko.
Liverpool beat Newcastle to land Hugo Ekitike on a six-year deal (Photo: Getty)
That they are net losers from the summer saga is undoubted.
Isak should be playing on Monday and his absence leaves Newcastle much weaker.
It also adds an extra edge to a fixture that the Magpies have had some success in recently.
While Liverpool’s version of events differs from some of those at Newcastle, there is an undercurrent of resentment at the way the Isak situation has played out over the summer and a suspicion at St James’ Park that he has been deliberately unsettled in an attempt to broker a deal below their sky high valuation of the striker.
Neither side disputes that the July tug of war over Ekitike was what heightened Isak’s discontent.
Liverpool, though, argue that it is not true that their interest in Ekitike was only piqued by Newcastle accelerating their own move for the France striker, a long-term Eddie Howe target viewed as perfect for his system and the natural heir to Isak.
They point to initial enquiries as long ago as May about Ekitike.
Arne Slot is understood to have been a huge fan and their late move was “unconnected” to their interest in Isak.
Newcastle’s anger is partly because they feel Liverpool have lowballed them on Isak, knowing full well £110m would never be enough to sign him but it might cause him to agitate for a move.
Liverpool’s stance after the initial bid was rejected was that they would not bid again due to the strength of Newcastle’s rebuttal.
Again, the suspicion at St James’ Park is that position will not hold until 1 September, with Newcastle braced for a second bid, with all the fireworks that would set off, after Monday night.
Given the dwindling amount of time left in the transfer window, the odds are now stacked against any new offer being successful.
Newcastle’s recruitment priority is the striker they have been targeting since June, regardless of Isak developments.
But after that, there will be an attempt to pick up the pieces and mend a broken relationship.
Conciliation will not be in the air on Monday night, though, when an important game of football breaks out amid the transfer saga.
St James’ Park is always special under the lights when an elite team visits. It promises to be white hot.
“It definitely adds edge,” Alex Hurst, a presenter for popular fan channel True Faith, says.
“The Isak saga has touched every single Newcastle fan this summer. Everyone you have spoken to, whether it’s at work, your home life, social media, everyone has been hurt by this story and the behaviour of the player. So it will have a galvanising effect.
“There’s a huge desire to beat them. There’s definitely a soreness that, having taken our number one transfer target in Ekitike, they’ve then come back in for Isak -– with the suspicion of many of us that they have unsettled him in one way or another.”
The most sensible path to take from September would be for an international break rapprochement between Isak and Newcastle.
Perhaps a new contract – with the release clause his advisers should have put in his initial deal included – is signed and he plays on for four or nine months more.
Then Newcastle can source an adequate replacement – the striker market will move again next year – knowing what the market conditions will be, while also strengthening in other positions.
Your next read
From PIF’s perspective, that is the play that makes most sense.
But every week Isak doesn’t play the situation gets tougher to unravel.
A tifo display on Monday by Wor Flags will emphasise togetherness and unity.
It is a subtle message to the striker sitting in the stands.
“I’m really disappointed,” Hurst says of Isak’s behaviour.
“Most sensible football fans don’t have an issue with players having ambition or the best financial settlement they can get.
“But to down tools and refuse to play, it’s very difficult to defend or understand that kind of behaviour.”