Yasir Al-Rumayyan steps in as Newcastle United fight to keep hold of Alexander Isak according to report….
Alexander Isak is not for sale this summer. Those are the words I have typed so many times since March since Newcastle United chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan ordered the club’s hierarchy to resist any offers for their record signing after scoring the winning goal at Wembley.
That has been a defiant message that has suck all summer, until this last week when suddenly things started to take a turn.
Isak returned from Austria with the rest of the squad, but instead of joining his teammates at Celtic Park, Eddie Howe sent the striker home to shield him from the circus after being heavily linked with Liverpool.
He was then seen training alone, a fate usually reserved for disruptive players. The party line is that he was injured, but scans revealed no issues. Then, the icing on the cake was when he wasn’t on the flight to Singapore with the rest of the squad. Again, the club used the injury as an excuse, but everyone saw through it, and rumours started that Isak was looking to leave Newcastle.
PIF will have the final say on the Alexander Isak saga
Keith Downie suggested that Isak has been unhappy for a while after a few broken promises at the club, and given the state of the club behind the scenes and how poorly we’ve acted in the transfer market, it’s not hard to see why he’s getting itchy feet.
However, after issuing his decree in March that Isak is not for sale, Yasir Al-Rumayyan feels like the right man to step in, as we mentioned earlier today.
Now, according to The Telegraph, the club’s chairman and governor of the PIF will have the final say on what happens with Isak. The article is pretty vague as to how much Yasir Al-Rumayyan will be involved before that point, but just sitting in Saudi Arabia and shouting “nope” when the deal comes through to be signed off isn’t going to cut it; we need direct involvement and promises made to Isak in a bid to persuade him to stay. If this happens, it will feel like the first time the PIF has shown any interest in the club since we won the Carabao Cup in March.
Is PIF’s involvement too little, too late?
It’s probably a case of too little, too late as Isak’s head has been well and truly turned, and there’s been nothing from Newcastle to suggest that the club’s ambitions match his own.
We’re halfway through the window with just Anthony Elanga to show for it, while Liverpool are spending money like water, Manchester United have vastly improved, and Chelsea have added eight players for each position, two of which were at our expense.
Newcastle are pushing ahead with a move for Benjamin Sesko, with The Telegraph posing the question as to whether he’ll be a partner or a replacement for Isak, but honestly, as things stand, the latter seems unfortunately inevitable right now.
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