Isak sale is the real test for Saudi Arabia

Almost four years ago, on October 7th 2021, Newcastle United were bought by PIF fund, owned by Saudi Arabia. The Magpies effectively became the richest club on the planet, surpassing other Gulf countries like Qatar (PSG) and Manchester City (UAE). The fans were on the streets celebrating, as promises of large sums of money were given. But the reality soon struck, and it struck hard. The other big clubs, led by Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea were scared of such a big player and in record time, a new rule was made – PSR (Profitability and Sustainability Rules in the context of the English Premier League). Brought in only to avoid Newcastle becoming the biggest club in the league, this rule effectively left Magpies more less where are they now, while the gap between the so called ‘big six’ is still huge and it looks it will be for some time. And four years later, another big decision looms – sell Isak or not?

The Saudi owners gave as much as they could (considering PSR) and with shrewd manager Eddie Howe they managed to get some good players who eventually became stars and Alexander Isak is leading the pack. The Swede exploded since arriving from Real Sociedad in 2022 for 60 million pounds, but now is a wanted man. Liverpool managed to unsettle the player via the ‘friendly’ media and TV pundits without even submitting the offer. As it turned out, Isak was already unhappy with his executives and Liverpool’s interest was only the last drop – he declared he has a thigh issue, was left at home and said to the club he would like to leave. He did so in the worst possible time – after Liverpool brought his potential successor in Newcastle – Hugo Ekitike, not leaving the Magpies a lot of space to find the quality replacement (Benjamin Sesko is the only one left). On top of that, Newcastle are not even sure they want sell him and that is the key decision the Saudi owners will have to make in the upcoming days.

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Since acquiring the club, the wealthy owners promised investment and stated they are aiming at the top spot and that his how they managed to secure some quality signings (Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes). But four years later, they are limited by PSR, they still haven’t invested in a new training ground, not to mention the new stadium, and if they sell Isak now, what message would it send? You are talking about greatness and yet you sell your best player (who scored 20 goals in the league) to your direct rival? If that happens, then Tonali, Guimaraes and even Tino Livramento can decide to look elsewhere. Players like Bryan Mbeumo, Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, James Trafford and Hugo Etkitike already turned them down for various reasons and if they sell Isak now, they will be even weaker than they were in May.

“But I think there's a wider picture here. There's a whole football club that has to make the decision. The ownership, together with the board of directors, especially with the money involved in modern day transfers. The manager of course has an opinion, but ultimately the decision will rest with the board” said coach Eddie Howe when pressed about the issue.

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So, chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan will have to decide. So far, his stance was that the player is not for sale and since he has three years left on his contract, Newcastle have the edge. If they allow Isak to leave, they will constantly be at risk of losing their best players, they will be picked apart. As fast as they can build a competitive team it will be in danger of being dismantled. When Manchester City were on the rise, they did not lose any of their star players along the way. They added to them and eventually trampled over the old elite. The executive board has been preparing for this scenario, but not expecting it to happen so soon. Now that it has come, their determination to keep their best player will be in serious test. Will they stand firm and risk their best player being unhappy the next 365 days, or they will sell him for huge money (150 million pounds) and then reinvest quickly? They will have to make this decision very, very soon.