Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has advised Alexander Isak to sack his agent ‘on the spot’ over the ‘f***ing mess’ he has made of this summer’s ongoing transfer saga.
Isak and his camp have made no secret of the fact the striker wishes to leave Newcastle for pastures new after three years in the north east, with Premier League champions Liverpool their priority.
But the situation has rapidly turned sour after Newcastle rejected Liverpool’s opening bid of £110million for Isak, with the Sweden international accusing the Magpies of ‘breaking promises’ and betraying his trust.
Later on Tuesday evening, Newcastle responded with a statement of their own, refuting claims that Isak had been given assurances that he would be allowed to leave for a direct rival.
While Isak opted out of Newcastle’s pre-season tour and played no part in the season’s opening match against Aston Villa, Eddie Howe has made it clear that the attacker would be welcomed back into the fold when he is ready to rejoin his team-mates.
The latest reports suggest Liverpool would be willing to stretch to £130m to lure Isak to Anfield, but it’s understood the Toon bosses are sticking to their £150m asking price for the wantaway forward.
‘I mean, oh my God, what a f***ing mess his agent has made of this, honestly,’ ex-Newcastle and England striker Shearer – the Premier League’s all-time record goalscorer – told Betfair.
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‘If I was him, I’d get his agent in a room and sack him on the spot immediately because he is meant to be giving him the advice to sign that six‑year deal and there’s no get‑out clause. I mean, it’s ridiculous.
‘And to take anyone’s word in football… it’s nonsensical to say that someone said, “Oh, I’ll be able to get out at the end of the season.” Really? I mean, come on.’
Shearer is adamant that Isak and his team have ‘gone about it in the wrong way’ and should have inserted a buyout clause in the Swede’s contract when he signed a new deal at St James’ Park in 2022.
‘Alexander Isak is being given bad advice, this isn’t the way to do things,’ Shearer added.
‘Newcastle have also released a statement saying that promises were not broken, or promises were never made.
‘I’ve always said there are two sides to every story, but my feelings are exactly the same: he’s gone about it in the wrong way.
‘I get that he might want to join a huge football club in Liverpool. I understand that, and I understand that they’re regularly going to be competing for trophies.
‘But we also need to know, who promised him? What did they promise him? When did they promise him, if that is the case? Newcastle have totally denied that.
‘I’d also ask the question, who’s advising him? He signed his six‑year contract without a release clause in it. That is his doing, that is his agent’s doing.
‘Now, if they foresaw someone trying to get out early, then before they signed that they were in a really strong position. They should have had a get‑out clause in it. That would be my take on it.
‘Everything sort of boils down to: I think he’s being given bad advice and the way he’s going about it is wrong, I really do.’
According to Shearer, Isak’s behaviour ‘doesn’t benefit anyone’ involved and only makes for a ‘very messy’ and unwanted distraction which has overshadowed the start of Newcastle’s season.
‘I just think even releasing this statement last night has thrown flames onto the fire, which he didn’t need to do,’ he continued.
‘I get that we needed to hear his side of the story and we’ve heard that now, and I’m not saying I don’t believe him or I don’t believe Newcastle, I’m just saying it’s very, very messy for him and for the football club. It doesn’t benefit anyone.
‘I still don’t think it’s the right way of going about things to get out of a football club. There are ways and means of doing it. As far as I’m aware he still hasn’t put in a written transfer request. Is there a reason for that?
‘I don’t know whether it’s still the case that if you do that, you lose out financially because you don’t get bonuses. Is that a thing that he perhaps should look at? I don’t know.
‘But whatever he’s doing and saying, and whoever’s advising him, for me, it’s not the right way.’
Loud chants of, ‘There’s only one greedy b******!’, were heard amongst Newcastle’s travelling support at Villa Park last weekend – and Shearer thinks fans have every right to be angry.
He went on: ‘I totally get it, and I totally understand it. There’s a lot of anger, there’s a lot of frustration, because we all come and go, fans come and go, players come and go, but the one constant that doesn’t is the football club. That’s far more important than anyone, any individual, any player has ever been and ever will be.
‘It’s their football club, it’s their community, it’s what they do, it’s what they love, it’s what they pay their money for, for their shirts. So, understandably, there’s a lot of anger around, and I totally get that when someone says they don’t want to play for their club.
‘It would happen at any other football club, not just Newcastle. It’s happened before and it’ll happen again, and those fans would feel exactly the same.
‘Now, I understand the frustration from the Liverpool fans’ point of view, but they would feel exactly the same if a player was doing that. And it doesn’t sit right with me, I don’t like it. I don’t like what Wissa’s doing at Brentford, even if Newcastle were to sign him.
‘It’s not a good look on a player or an agent to not go out and train and not go out and play when you have a contract behind you. It’s not a good look and it’s not a good thing to do.’
Newcastle’s initial bid to to bring in a successor to Isak, namely Yoane Wissa, was rejected out of hand, with Brentford thought to be demanding a fee in the region of £50m for the DR Congo forward.
And while talks are ongoing for Wissa, Shearer feels his former club would also need to bring in a replacement for Callum Wilson before the transfer deadline comes around on September 1.
He added: ‘My view is the same as it was three or four weeks ago. If Newcastle can get players in to replace him, and if Newcastle receive a bid they want to accept, then it may happen.
‘If that doesn’t happen, then he stays, and it becomes really messy. If Liverpool want him, then they put in an offer Newcastle will accept, and if Newcastle can get two players in, because that’s what they need, one to replace Isak and one to replace Wilson, then fine.
‘They’ve been trying to do that for the past four or five weeks and haven’t been able to. Whether they can do that in the next 10 days is doubtful, but there’s still time.
‘I think we’re just sat here guessing, but last night’s statement hasn’t done him any favours whatsoever in terms of trying to get Newcastle onside or forcing them into a decision, I think they’ll just go the opposite way.’
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