Jamie Carragher feels it could be in Newcastle’s best interest to sell Alexander Isak, as working with players who don’t wish to be at a club is usually a nightmare for all involved.
The transfer saga rumbles on, with the Swedish striker making it clear that he wants to go away the Magpies for Liverpool.
The Reds have seen a bid of £110m rejected, with Newcastle keen to maintain hold of the 25-year-old and setting a mammoth asking price of £150m.
Isak has not been training together with his teammates and shouldn’t be available for selection as he hopes to force through a move before the transfer deadline on Monday September 1.
Carragher obviously has a dog on this fight, but insists that shouldn’t be why he’s recommending Newcastle sell their star striker.
Your ultimate guide to the football season
Metro’s weekly football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive evaluation, FPL suggestions and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – enroll, it’s an open goal.
As a substitute the situation reminds him of Fernando Torres at Liverpool when the Spaniard wanted to go away the club. Carragher felt the period during which the Reds kept hold of him against his will was nightmarish.
‘This shouldn’t be because I’m considering I need Isak at Liverpool but I feel Newcastle should sell Isak,’ Carragher said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
‘The explanation I say that’s because there’ll be so many individuals outside Newcastle telling Newcastle and Eddie Howe what they need to do. “You’ve got to be strong, you’ve got to indicate Liverpool or every other club and show that players can’t just demand to go.”
‘But they don’t have the issue of Isak daily, they don’t have the issue Eddie Howe has of going into press conferences and getting asked about it. It’s a cloud over the club consistently.
‘The explanation I say it’s because I’ve got experience of it. We had this with Fernando Torres at Liverpool, where he didn’t really need to be on the club.
‘He ended up staying and we sold him within the January. That 4 or five months was a nightmare for the club and everybody on the club couldn’t wait for him to maneuver on.
‘It’s just like Newcastle. Newcastle are delighted to be within the Champions League, Isak is a player who desires to win the Champions League they usually’re not there now.
‘As soon as our level dropped, world class players like Torres, [Javier] Mascherano, [Xabi] Alonso all wanted to go away because there’s an excessive amount of of a niche between where they’re as players and where the club are. If you’ve got a player who doesn’t wish to be there it might probably be an absolute nightmare.’
Alexander Isak Premier League stats
Apps: 86
Goals: 54
Assists: 9
Newcastle host Liverpool on Monday night and manager Eddie Howe was asked if there was any update on the situation.
‘Absolutely nothing to update you with, unfortunately,’ Howe told Sky Sports.
The Magpies have been in search of a brand new striker, not only to cover for Isak but to exchange Callum Wilson after he left at the top of his contract.
A £50m bid for Wolves forward Jorgen Strand Larsen has been rejected, having already missed out on the likes of Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko this summer.
MORE: Newcastle vs Liverpool TV channel, live stream, team news, time and odds
MORE: Liverpool face surprise Premier League rivals in race to sign Marc Guehi
MORE: Gary Neville predicts who will replace injured Bukayo Saka for Arsenal’s clash with Liverpool