Jamie Carragher feels it would be in Newcastle’s best interest to sell Alexander Isak, as working with players who don’t want to be at a club can be a nightmare for all involved.
The transfer saga rumbles on, with the Swedish striker making it clear that he wants to leave the Magpies for Liverpool.
The Reds have seen a bid of £110m rejected, with Newcastle keen to keep hold of the 25-year-old and setting a mammoth asking price of £150m.
Isak has not been training with his teammates and is not available for selection as he hopes to force through a move before the transfer deadline on Monday September 1.
Carragher obviously has a dog in this fight, but insists that is not why he is recommending Newcastle sell their star striker.
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Instead the situation reminds him of Fernando Torres at Liverpool when the Spaniard wanted to leave the club. Carragher felt the period during which the Reds kept hold of him against his will was nightmarish.
‘This is not because I’m thinking I want Isak at Liverpool but I think Newcastle should sell Isak,’ Carragher said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
‘The reason I say that is because there’ll be so many people outside Newcastle telling Newcastle and Eddie Howe what they should do. “You’ve got to be strong, you’ve got to show Liverpool or any other club and show that players can’t just demand to go.”
‘But they don’t have the problem of Isak every day, they don’t have the problem Eddie Howe has of going into press conferences and getting asked about it. It’s a cloud over the club constantly.
‘The reason I say it is because I’ve got experience of it. We had this with Fernando Torres at Liverpool, where he didn’t really want to be at the club.
‘He ended up staying and we sold him in the January. That four or five months was a nightmare for the club and everyone at the club couldn’t wait for him to move on.
‘It’s similar to Newcastle. Newcastle are delighted to be in the Champions League, Isak is a player who wants to win the Champions League and they’re not there now.
‘As soon as our level dropped, world class players like Torres, [Javier] Mascherano, [Xabi] Alonso all wanted to leave because there’s too much of a gap between where they are as players and where the club are. When you’ve got a player who doesn’t want to be there it can 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 looking for a new striker, not only to cover for Isak but to replace Callum Wilson after he left at the end 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.