The Newcastle United dressing room will suddenly feel very different following Alexander Isak’s move to Liverpool.
After three years with the club, Isak has left Newcastle United under a cloud of disgrace.
Having been held in the highest regard and viewed as a legend for his Carabao Cup final heroics, Isak turned his back on Newcastle. The way he acted over the summer was disgraceful, yet it ended with Isak joining Liverpool and getting everything he wanted.
The 25-year-old has totally tarnished his reputation on Tyneside. It has been such a sad ending for a player who was idolised at St James’ Park.
His actions have been shocking, but they do not tell the whole story of what Isak was really like during his three years as part of the Newcastle United squad.
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty ImagesAlexander Isak was not a ‘bad egg’ at Newcastle United
That is according to journalist Chris Waugh, who has spoken about Isak’s move to Liverpool on the latest episode of Pod On The Tyne.
While Waugh has lambasted Isak for his actions this summer, he is unwilling to ‘rewrite history’ and suggest that Isak was always a ‘bad egg’ inside the dressing room.
“The thing about the character, I just want to come out of that slightly because I think Isak has acted terribly,” he said.
“I think the whole situation has been handled terribly. But I don’t want this to sort of rewrite history. He’s always been a complex character.
“And I mentioned this before on the podcast, he’s unusual. But he was well liked in the dressing room. He also could be very engaged and he was well liked.
“He’s very intelligent. He can speak several languages. His English is fantastic. And I mean that not just in terms of conversational English, the way that he uses idioms and the like is brilliant.
“So I don’t want this to be seen as he’s always been like a bad egg. He wouldn’t have been at Newcastle for three years and would have succeeded in the way that he did if that was the case.
“Yes, he did flip through periods where he lacked engagement. We wrote about it before the Carabao Cup final in a big read that I did on Isak. People inside the club use the term stimulate. That’s what you need to do with Isak. It’s almost to be so good that you have to stimulate him to get him to perform to his best and keep him concentrated.
“Maybe he feels to be stimulated he needs to go to a new challenge beyond Newcastle. I’m not defending anything that he’s done, but I also don’t want this to make out as if Alexander Isak has been the worst person inside Newcastle’s dressing room for three years because I also don’t think that’s a fair representation of the last few years.”
Who was Alexander Isak’s best friend at Newcastle United?
While the manner of his departure was disgraceful, Isak will leave behind some close friends at St James’ Park. Eddie Howe has built a band of brothers, and Isak was very much part of that during his three years with the club.
The Swedish striker created close bonds, with Sven Botman being his best friend at Newcastle. They joined during the same transfer window, having been bought by the Magpies in 2022.
They have a strong friendship, which is why Botman messaged Isak on Instagram to say good luck following his move to Liverpool.
The Dutchman wrote on Instagram: “What started off as teammates growed in one of my rare best friendships. No more words needed brother, all the best in your next chapter.”
Botman’s message was not well received by some Toon fans, and nor was Anthony Gordon’s post about Isak. He also paid tribute to his former teammate, wishing him all the best for the future.