Nothing has actually changed in the Alexander Isak to Liverpool saga but don’t let that stop anybody trumpeting ‘decisions’ and ‘twists’.
Average Joe
Joelinton last played as a striker for Newcastle United in November 2023 when Eddie Howe’s side lost 2-0 to Bournemouth with a midfield of Sean Longstaff, Lewis Miley and Joe Willock. The Newcastle Evening Chronicle awarded him a somewhat generous 5/10 in their match ratings, noting that ‘he did not manage a shot’.
But that did not prevent one enterprising journalist asking Howe whether he would contemplate deploying the Brazilian as a striker against Aston Villa on Saturday.
The idea was obviously summarily dismissed, what with Joelinton being a key part of possibly the most complete and settled midfield in the Premier League. Howe did not explicitly say it was a batsh*t idea but the undercurrent was clear: This was a batsh*t idea.
If you thought that might be the end of the matter then you have not been paying attention to football journalism in 2025.
Newcastle United make emergency No 9 decision as plan put to Eddie Howe
FFS, Chronicle.
Can you make a ‘decision’ on something that was never a realistic possibility? You might as well have asked him if he was considering putting Jason Tindall up front (you know he’d absolutely be up for it) and then declaring that Newcastle had made an ’emergency No 9 decision’.
But the Chronicle had clearly missed a blindingly obvious trick, remedied by the Express when they picked up the ‘story’…
Newcastle make emergency Alexander Isak decision as club hit with striker crisis
Magically it’s now an ’emergency Alexander Isak decision’ and not just a man dismissing a ludicrous idea. And now it’s ranking for ‘Alexander Isak’ on Google.
It’s simple when you have literally no morals know how.
READ: Newcastle are the Isak of the Premier League as misery compounded by Chelsea
Echo Breach
You know who has the absolute inside track on the Alexander Isak situation? Former Charlton defender Chris Powell, of course. Whenever we want to know what is going on with the Swedish striker, Newcastle United and Liverpool, we consult Powell, or ‘Powell, speaking on the Footy Accumulators No Tippy Tappy Football podcast in partnership with BOYLE Sports’ as he prefers to be known.
Obviously the GAU Writers (nope, us neither) at Reach know that Powell does not have the inside track, but that matters not a jot when you can produce absolute bilge like this on the Liverpool Echo.
Liverpool won’t want Alexander Isak to hear four-word plea from Newcastle
Even if we ignore the fact that ‘give us a year’ is far closer to a promise than a plea, it’s such obvious bollocks.
Mind you, these are the same people who bring you ‘Eight players could miss Liverpool vs Bournemouth Premier League clash as injuries hit’, even though five of the players mentioned are from the opposition.
And don’t even get us started on ‘Alexander Isak’s wage vs Hugo Ekitike’s Liverpool contract says it all about transfer saga’. Does it? Or does it tell you that one man signed his contract in 2022 with a club that had just finished 11th and the other in 2025 for the actual Premier League champions?
Clarification of the day
No, the Evening Standardit is not an ‘Alexander Isak to Liverpool twist’ that the Swede will not play for Newcastle on Saturday; that’s the definition of absolutely f*** all changing.
Nothing ever happens…
So what Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said when inevitably asked about Isak was this: “As time has gone on, there has been an acceptance this is the squad and we have got to make the best of the situation. That’s always been my train of thought.
“Whatever situation you’re in, you have got to find a way and you can only control what you can control. We have moved forward and I’ve got to say the atmosphere of the group has been very good in the last couple of weeks.”
As has been documented at length elsewhere, we know that Isak will remain at Newcastle United unless Liverpool meet their asking price.
We know he is unlikely to play for Newcastle until after the transfer window is shut, at which point we presume he will sulkily return to action in the hope that he will get a transfer next summer.
So again, nothing has changed. Nowt. Nada. F*** all.
So of course the Mirror…
Eddie Howe drops huge Alexander Isak transfer hint and it’s good news for Liverpool
He didn’t and it’s not. We cannot underline this enough.
Newcastle are being forced to confront life without star striker Alexander Isak as they prepare to take on Aston Villa in the Premier League this weekend. Eddie Howe has acknowledged that his side will ‘have to find a way’ without the Swede’s services, which may prick the ears of those associated with Liverpool.
You know whose ears it should prick? Anybody associated with Aston Villa, who will be facing am Isak-less Newcastle on Saturday. Now that’s good news.
