Former Newcastle United leader Alan Shearer has claimed that striker Alexander Isak's comments have only worsened the conflict with the team after the player accused the club of failing to honour agreements, calling his words “destructive for all parties”.
The forward had been keen to leave Newcastle throughout the summer but was left disappointed earlier this month when Liverpool rejected an offer believed to be worth £110m including bonuses.
Having missed pre-season in Asia and training separately from the main group, Isak was also absent from the opening Premier League match against Aston Villa, which ended in a goalless draw. The situation was further exacerbated on Tuesday night when he posted on Instagram that “the cooperation cannot continue”.
Speaking to Betfair, Shearer described the situation as “complete chaos” and blamed the player's agent Vlado Lemic.
“If I were in his place, I would insist on the agent's dismissal. It was he who advised signing a six-year contract with no exit options,” the ex-captain emphasized.
“This is incredibly naive. To trust verbal agreements in football… To claim that someone promised the possibility of leaving after the season? Seriously? This is ridiculous…
“There are always two sides to a coin, but my position remains the same: he took the wrong approach…
“The very publication of this statement yesterday added fuel to the flames. This should have been avoided.
“Although I understand the need to voice his position – now we have heard it. It is not about trusting the parties, but about the fact that the situation looks extremely ugly for both the player and the club. This does not benefit anyone.”
In his post, Isak wrote: “The fact is that commitments have been made and my position has been known for a long time. Pretending that problems arose suddenly is a lie.”
“When commitments are broken and trust is undermined, cooperation becomes meaningless.”
In a response statement, Newcastle denied providing the player with any guarantees regarding the transfer.
“We would like to emphasize that the contract with Alex is valid, and the management has never made any promises about his possible transfer,” the club said in a statement.
This conflict became a key storyline of the transfer period.
After rejecting a bid from Liverpool in August, interest in the scorer of 27 goals in 42 games last season remains despite the arrival of Hugo Ekitiike, a striker previously tracked by Newcastle.
According to media reports, the club values Isak at £150 million and is only willing to consider a transfer if there is a replacement. Attempts to sign Benjamin Cesko, who chose Manchester United, were also unsuccessful.
The player's deal with St James' Park still runs for three years.
Representatives for Isak did not respond to a request for comment.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
