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Alexander Isak's explosive statement, accusing Newcastle of breaking promises, has been dismissed as "ridiculous". The ongoing situation with Isak at Newcastle could reach a resolution before Monday evening's transfer deadline.
The saga has seen the Magpies reject a $150 million (£110 million) bid from Liverpool earlier this month, before things turned sour with Isak pushing for a departure from St James' Park, training separately from his team-mates and being omitted from this season's opening matches.
The Swede has made it abundantly clear that he has no intention of playing for Newcastle again. In a heartfelt Instagram post, he claimed the club had reneged on its word. This was believed to be in relation to either a new, improved contract, which Newcastle failed to negotiate terms with him on, or informing the striker they would be open to him exploring options elsewhere.
Newcastle's owners held talks with Isak prior to their 3-2 defeat to Liverpool on Monday evening in an attempt to convince their star player to stay with the offer of a lucrative new deal. However, Isak reportedly has no interest in doing so, reports the Mirror.
As a result, the Magpies have finalized the signing of Stuttgart's Nick Woltemade as a replacement ahead of a potential new British transfer record-breaking bid from Liverpool for Isak, which could be around $175M (£130m) before add-ons and bonuses.
Now, Sky Andrew, the sports agent who famously brokered Sol Campbell's controversial move from Tottenham to Arsenal, has delivered a scathing assessment of how Isak's representative has handled his situation.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Andrew revealed how the agent was collecting commission each year of the player's original six-year deal, which was signed upon his arrival in 2022.
He said: "You've noticed, and I don't want to pour scorn on my profession, but you've noticed that it's only Isak that is seen as the bad guy.
"There's something going on behind the scenes where he's being advised to behave in a certain way, but this isn't a good situation for football. If he gets his move, it isn't a good situation for football because there are young footballers out there looking at the situation and thinking, 'Oh right, that's the way to do it.'".
"Players have got to take responsibility for who looks after them. And it's quite obvious that world-class players need world-class advice; they need people with hindsight or foresight. If anybody's telling me that this player came into Newcastle and no one expected him to be successful, then why is he playing football?
"So now we have a situation where he's forcing himself into doing a move. Liverpool could quite rightly say to him, 'We want a 20-year contract with no buyout,' because he's got nowhere else to go."
Andrew then examined Isak's recent comments and his assertions that the club had reneged on pledges, contending that informal agreements shouldn't be regarded as legally binding when vast sums are involved - a stance recently echoed by Alan Shearer, who suggested that Isak "should sack" his agent.
He remarked: "That's absolutely ridiculous. Promises were reneged upon; we are in a multi-billion-pound industry. Any promises have to be put in black and white, in a contract; if it's not put in a contract, then it doesn't exist. And for any agent to not put discussions, whatever promises were made, they've got to be put in a contract.
"If it's not in a contract, you can't expect anyone to honour it. And for the player to say that he was made promises, that's a reflection on his representatives, because players just want to play football. And if they sit there with someone and say 'Oh right,' the common saying is clubs will say, 'Ah don't worry, just come and knock on our door,' when things are going well.
"That's just not good enough. He is a world-class asset, you can't blame Newcastle for giving him a six-year contract - well-played. But then when it comes down to the divorce, the divorce has to be negotiated at the same time as the marriage. There are too many agents out there doing an average job, and I don't want to criticise this agent in particular, because I'm not 100% sure what's going on behind the scenes - but this situation should never arise."
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