- Isak wants Newcastle transfer move
- Saga compared to Bale & Modric’s Spurs exits
- Magpies sent Levy warning
Amid Isak’s efforts to leave Newcastle and joinLiverpool, former Arsenal defender William Gallas believes there are similarities with this situation and when Modric and Bale left Tottenham for Real Madrid in 2012 and 2013, respectively. The ex-France international also opened up on Spurs chairman Daniel Levy’s efforts to keep the duo, in a warning of sorts to the Magpies.
He told Gambling Zone: “I think what Newcastle tried to do is what Daniel Levy tried to do many times with Gareth Bale and Luka Modric. But with those two, the situation hadn’t come this far. They were still training. They weren’t in the newspapers. They were professional. It wasn’t a saga. Newcastle have to be careful. Hugo Ekitike scored twice already, and Liverpool won their game. So they have to be careful about how they handle it from here, because if Newcastle ask for a ridiculous price, Liverpool could walk away from the table and then you have a situation where the player is in limbo and Newcastle will probably have to accept less money for him in January while also having a weaker squad for the first half of the season.”
When asked if the Isak situation was similar to Bale and Modric’s transfers, the former Spurs man added: “I don’t know with Gareth, but with Luca. I know it was hard for him. He was furious that his move dragged on. He was very angry with Daniel Levy. When you look at the situation of Alexander Isak, we all know he wants to leave the club. The club wants to keep him, but he won’t train. He’s trying to force his way out, but that’s not the best way to leave the club. Because when you leave, and join a new club, you have to be ready physically. You don’t want to be out of shape for your first day with your new team-mates. If you move, you still have to train with your current club.”
After Newcastle rejected an offer for Isak from Liverpool, along with expressing their disappointment at the Swede’s antics, manager Eddie Howe said on Friday that this saga is “coming to an end”. Whether the former Real Sociedad man gets his dream Anfield move remains to be seen.
Despite criticising Isak’s actions, including going on strike, Gallas believes Newcastle should allow him to leave.
He added: “I think the way Isak has handled this, it looks like he’s been given bad advice from his circle. Simple. (The current situation) That is (a result of) bad advice from his people. But at the same time, listen, I won’t only blame him because I also think that Newcastle must take some responsibility for what is happening here. I’m not sure I agree with the approach the club has taken. The player has scored loads of goals every season.
“Last season, he hit more than 20 goals. You’re going to double your money for him with Liverpool’s offer. He gave everything to Newcastle in those last few years, and sometimes you have to let players leave at that point. It doesn’t seem fair to make his life so hard when a huge offer comes in. Some players really don’t care about the clubs they play for, and think only about themselves. They don’t see it as clubs giving them the opportunity, and they don’t think fine, I’ll stay another year. You can’t say that Isak hasn’t given everything for Newcastle since he joined the club. Some of his teammates, if a big club comes knocking, rather than staying for another year and paying the club back, they may be encouraged to act like he has done to ensure that they get a move. Ultimately, Newcastle should let him go.”
