Liverpool obviously tapped Isak up before losing their net spend champions crown forever
Alexander Isak to Liverpool went exactly as any transfer does. He was ‘tapped up’ in the same way any player is and Newcastle got a deal which suits them.
The summer 2025 transfer window is closed. The analysis is well underway.
Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com.
PR v journalism
Dear Ed,
Superb Mediawatch this morning on Luke Edwards and his new Comical Ali job for Newcastle United. Congratulations to Luke on his promotion.
I like Luke just as I like George Caulkin but hearing them parrot lines clearly given to them directly by Newcastle rather than do their job as journalists was depressing. My particular favourite was George suggesting that there was a belief inside Newcastle that Liverpool only bid for Isak to placate their fans having already spent over €200 million on attackers to add to an EPL winning team!
Such a massively frustrating summer of nonsense on the Isak transfer with so many people getting their knickers in a twist (including F365 with several articles) over a transfer that has played out 100 times in the same way in the past.
Did Liverpool tap Isak up in the traditional but no longer punished or unique to any one club or group of clubs because they all do it with players they want at clubs further down the food chain? Absolutely.
Were Isak and his representatives ‘a bit of a dick’ to believe that whatever assurances or promises or as Eddie Howe intimated ‘conversations’ were had would enable his transfer this summer?
Absolutely – but Newcastle were very much neither confirming nor denying that such conversations took place.
Were Isak and his representatives ‘a total dick’ to throw down tools and go on strike to try to force Newcastle to sell?
Absolutely – but he’s not the first and won’t be the last – look at Wissa doing the exact same to become Newcastle’s Isak, or is it still Callum Wilson, replacement.
Were Newcastle perfectly within their rights to demand the value that they felt Isak was worth to them and expect to be able to agree to sign replacements in advance?
Absolutely – though their ‘inability’ to find a single striker they could sign between July and 1st September suggests they either need to improve their Football Operations Department or perhaps in reality their strategy was to look to run down the clock to get to the window closing without Isak leaving.
The biggest takeaway is that this transfer, when we remove the absolute nonsense driven by media narratives and online fans, has gone down exactly as expected and as it should – player wants to move, proposed new club bids a record fee (the talk that this bid was somehow insulting was absolutely bonkers), current club rejects it and lets it be known what their preferred fee is, clubs negotiate and agree a compromise fee largely in the middle and everyone walks away having got what they wanted.
Newcastle got what they wanted? Perhaps not entirely but they have gotten what they needed namely a massive influx of cash that if they are smart will enable them to invest across the team to make the next step. In the absence of the ability to have a single massive summer like Chelsea and City did post-takeover, it’s what teams have to do to grow when they don’t have huge stadiums and high-ticket prices or hotels and women’s teams to sell.
That’s what the next step needed to be for the club – sell one of their previous successful signings for massive profit and look to invest to improve the overall team and they could be much better for it.
Regards,
Lindsay, Dublin.
Instead of Mediawatch today, can you just put up a link to Luke Edwards’ twitter account?
Tom M, Leeds
MC – Meh, close enough.
28 days later
Chris NUFC, you’re treating transfers like they’re supermarket runs. Newcastle didn’t “cave”, they held their line as long as possible to test the market, which is literally what every selling club does. If a buyer eventually stumps up close enough to the valuation, it doesn’t mean the seller should’ve rolled over on day one. That’s not “caving,” that’s timing.
And on the striker situation: football isn’t a straight “buy early = 9 points” equation. Recruitment depends on who’s actually available, whether they want to come, and when a deal can realistically be done. The idea that Isak should have sat out 3 years while the club drags it out is fantasy, that’s not how contracts or careers work.
If you want a film analogy, this is like 28 Days Later where one bite causes the whole thing to collapse in seconds. Transfers are more like the survivors barricading themselves in the mansion — tense standoffs, long waits, and eventually one side has to make the decisive move. Newcastle didn’t get “infected” by weakness; they just judged the moment to unlock the door and take the best deal still on the table.
Gaptoothfreak, Man. Utd., Lisbon (Show me a better irl depiction of Fifa’s/ PES’ finesse shot than Marc Guéhi’s goal)
Waiting for Liverpool to click
In actual real life, I do my best to be a glass half-full type of human. I try to accentuate the positive because despite the outrageous fortune of life, I am a privileged lucky person.
Not with football though. Football has been the most fickle of mistresses and the one thing that I absolutely know for a fact is that the moment I show any signs of hubris or over-confidence, the football gods reign down fire on me. Precedents have been set, so when it comes to football, I am a deep pessimist, the kind of person that went into injury time against Arsenal yesterday thinking, well, we at least have a draw here.
But…a thought has lodged in my brain. Liverpool have been deeply underwhelming so far. Lucky to win all three games with late goals, when a draw would have been a fair result on the balance of play. The media has been full of theories about how Slot is going to struggle to get the team firing on all cylinders, that assimilating half a dozen players into a team is no easy task, that these things take time, and that it is to be expected that the team looks disjointed.
Three games. Nine points. Top of the table. The only team with a 100% record. Not bad for a team that is going through some sort of transition and playing poorly.
Wirtz has made no impact so far, he is clearly struggling to get into the pace of premier league football. You would have to think that he will click at some point. Kerkez looked better yesterday, but he looks a little over-awed and his first two games were poor. Frimpong looked lively, but he went and got himself injured. Salah has looked out of sorts (still got a goal and assist though) and isn’t at the top of his game. Konate had two shockers before yesterday. Mac Allister is clearly short of match fitness.
Oh, and we have just signed some fella called Isak, apparently.
Imagine what Liverpool could be when all the moving parts are working properly. There is a universe where this will happen, I just hope I am living in it.
Mat (Ten Hag loves those poisoned chalices, doesn’t he?)
Hey Ash (CFC),
Google is your friend:
‘If Liverpool sign the Swedish striker, it would push their transfer outlay this summer towards the £400 million mark.
But that would still not come close to the biggest window in Premier League history when adjusted for inflation.
According to football finance expert Kieran Maguire, Chelsea’s 2003/04 spending spree is the largest on record at the equivalent of £916.4 million in today’s money.
And the Blues do not just dominate the list of the biggest transfer windows ever, they take the top four spots on the list.’
Liverpool have consistently spent less than not only all of the big six but also Villa, Newcastle and West Ham so have absolutely earned the right to spend big after 15 years of incredible financial management (from the brink of administration) and 6 years of success on the field.
‘Earned’ being the operative word.
James Outram
We all need to spare a thought for Liverpool fans at this difficult time. No longer holders of the net spend trophy.
I’m sure there’ll be a new breakthrough in the field of scouse maths, that’ll bring the trophy back home.
It really does mean more!
Chris, NUFC
Kind of looking forward to seeing how the Liverpool fans spin this transfer window when their net spend ends up bigger than nearly every other team’s gross.
Richard (might need a degree in Scouse Maths) Pike
Hey, big spender
I see that the “of course Liverpool are winning they’re spending the most” argument is out now that we are actually spending for once.
It’s a flawed argument of course because we are regularly outspent by United, Chelsea, sometimes city (who in their defence really aren’t as mental as everyone says with their spending , it’s their income which is shifty) arsenal. So what’s the reason when we succeed over these teams when we don’t spend? Remembering also that in title winning seasons we have spent less than Leicester did. We win the champions League and spend….£14m on minamino, then won the league. Last year it was £15m on chiesa and won the league.
So perhaps it isn’t whoever spends the most obviously wins, it’s whoever spends the most efficiently wins. Why hasn’t arteta won anything since having a team comprised of his own players? Why don’t united ever win the league? Why are city struggling?
Money doesn’t guarantee success, it makes it more likely but ultimately the fact we spent 84m on a striker who seemed to think he got a missed big chances bonus tells you it’s not how much you spend. It’s who you spend it on.
Most of the time Liverpool spend their money well. Misses are rare, and hits are more common. I think this is an area where Liverpool could probably say theure better than anyone else in the league. Even pep at city has been racking up more misses than hits in the transfer market over the length of his term.
If you want to ease your mind and say Liverpool win because we are “buying” the league just remind yourself everyone spent more than we did last year and they didn’t win the league. And the big signing we did make was actually an anvil around our neck most of the time.
Spending smart > spending big
Sometimes they happen at the same time but spending big ≠ spending smart
Lee
READ MORE: Premier League transfer window winners | Premier League transfer window losers
The Liverpool tax
I have two quick points to make, one observation makes me sound like a bitter Man Utd supporter and the other is more something I have noted about the big 6 clubs of late that I think is strange.
1. Why do clubs pay Liverpool such amounts for their players. 35m for Quansah, 25m Doaks….. review Liverpool’s outgoings over the last 10 seasons and not one player ever improved or made Liverpool regret selling them. Jordan Ibe 19m, Rhian Brewster 23m crazy prices and a horrific return for Bournemounth and Sheff United. At least when United sell a player you are nearly guaranteed they will improve. Fair play to Liverpool for getting such amounts but honestly clubs need to look at what they are buying. City sell loads of players but at least a chunk of them went on to have decent careers.
2. Where are all the English players gone from the Big 6. Liverpool had no English player start on Sunday, Arsenal had 2, United had 2, Chelsea 2, Spurs 1, City 2. There is very little connection between clubs, players and fans anymore and I am aware of the irony of being Irish and writing this but clubs should have players from the area playing because, as a fan, you would think they would play harder or to borrow a Liverpool saying ‘This means more’.
Paul K, Dublin
Arteta is an egg
“It’s getting rather boring. I always ask this mailbox and never seem to get any answer. Why is the onus always on Arsenal to play beautiful football? Liverpool at home are the best transitional threat in the world. How many did you count in the first half? I didn’t count any. Was Liverpool also not trying to win the game? We know the team have a creative problem and that’s why Eze was bought. What more do you want?”
Damola, I’ll give you an answer: As a neutral looking forward to a top of the table clash, I’d have enjoyed Arsenal actually playing at least one of Eze or Odegaard from the start. This wasn’t prime unstoppable red tide Salah/Mane/Firmino that required Arteta’s safety first default. They’re good going forward aye, but so should you be given the wedge spent and available options. Where’s the creativity in a midfield containing Rice, Merino, and Zubimendi???
Arteta’s “plan” was soooooooooo transparent. Field a team of defense oriented giants with an afterthought of an attack sellotaped onto the front of it, strangle the opposition and yourself as a biproduct, then throw on the actual talent with 20 left. At this point, elite opposition now has some space, and Arsenal either draw or lose.
Man’s an egg at this rarefied level, trouble for you is he’s a good manager but not quite good enough, second is actually him overachieving (or would be if he hadn’t spent a billion quid).
Lastly, that post match interview: “I think we elevated (with hand gestures too if you please) the game and the dominance to the point that they have to raise it”. Kinda Mikel, you did dominate them in so far as fielding a team designed almost entirely to shut down Liverpool worked until you actually had to open up a bit. As ever, the howls of outrage will say “WHAT DO YOU EXPECT US TO DO? ALL TEAMS GO TO ANFIELD AND TRY TO NICK IT!” Yeah they do, but context of six years, billion quid, one FA Cup yonks ago is what makes it different for Ickle Mikel IMO.
RHT/TS x
A lot is said of artetas mentality going into big games and setting up to not lose rather than win.
Worried about an upcoming anfield fixture arteta stops all of his players on the training ground. He’s carrying a portable radio (in the 80s we called them ghetto blasters) and gathers his players around to prepare them. Anfield is a fortress he tells them..one of the most difficult grounds in the world to visit. Because you are not prepared for the noise of the crowd. It can overwhelm you. Engulf you.
Some players simply shrink under the noise and influence , but he knows how to beat it he says. He will desensitize his players to its effect.
He sets the radio down. And tells his players to continue training. While they’re playing a small inter-team game he pressed play and out of the tiny speakers comes the sound of an anfield crowd recording singing you’ll never walk alone.
“Now we are at anfield….let’s go!”
This says everything to me. I laughed when I first saw it and couldn’t help thinking that as a player id laugh as well.
Lee
Newcastle nailed it
Pre-empting the Transfer Windows Winners and Losers piece I am going to bet that Newcastle will be down in the Losers section, and although I would understand why I would like to put forward a counter view.
We entered the summer needing a goalkeeper to push Nick Pope and to potentially replace him, a right winger offering an upgrade to Murphy and depth where we had none, a centre back to challenge Schaer and reduce the average age of our centre backs, a striker to replace Wilson.
Of course the Isak farce meant we needed two strikers instead of one, and selling Longstaff maybe made sense from a PSR perspective (although how much difference does £12m of pure profit make) but we needed another midfielder who was an upgrade to him and take some of the reliance off our first choice three.
We’ve now landed all those positions. No one can guarantee that who we’ve landed will be any good, but if the definition of winning or losing the window is down to what you end up with versus what you wanted, we’ve done that.
Now the argument as to why we’ve lost the window will be that we’ve ended up with players who were way down the list of who we wanted and that is hard to argue against, but its not often than a team outside the top tier gets who they want, and most of those we didn’t land went to other big six teams (Pedro and Delap to Chelsea, Mbuemo, Cunha and Sesko to United, Trafford to City, Ekitike to Liverpool).
We’ve not lost a top target to another chasing pack rival, that the business all got done in the last few weeks is definitely down to a really poor and inadequate set up but at least we’ve got sh*t done at the end rather than not at all.
Nor is it possible to say we’ve not overpaid to a lesser or greater degree on all of those we’ve landed. Elanga I have concerns, Aaron Ramsey I think a loan is a good option but have we committed to buy him, Jacob Ramsey could be good if he stays fit but it’s a big if and he only lasted 45 minutes against Leeds, Wissa we’ve definitely ended up as Brentford’s b*tch.
The only two I would say we could make money back on are Woltemade and Thiaw, if for no other reason than there is a universal constant beyond death and taxes, which is if a German player is half decent Bayern Munich will eventually want to buy them. So you won’t find any arguments about us overpaying, but no-one will care about the money spent if between them Wissa and Woltemade contribute what Isak did last season or go beyond. It’s a big if, but that would have been impossible to achieve without them so what is the better choice – refuse to overpay and lead the line with Gordon and Osula all year?
So on the one hand its been a hard slog and lessons have to be learned on how bigger clubs operate the transfer market if Newcastle want to move forward from top 7 also rans. Newcastle seem to have learned a bit already and the last few weeks haven’t been as farcical as the first half to three quarters of the window. If a capable Sporting Director can be onboarded hopefully we won’t have all this again next summer.
On the other hand its hard to argue we don’t have the bodies we need, and the squad, at least on paper, is much stronger than the last time we went into the Champions League. We’ve hosed a lot of money around to get here, but the only evidence on whether it was worth it will be there at the end of the season.
I have faith in Eddie’s coaching ability and that is what keeps me going that this could be a decent season. It’s a tough Champions League draw so best we can hope for are results at home plus a sneaky draw or two away could be enough to get to the knock out playoffs and see who we get. We should absolutely go for the jugular in the FA Cup with a properly bedded in squad when it gets going in January, and can progress through the League Cup depending on who we get in the draw.
In the league it already feels like two of the big six are still out of sorts (City and United), Villa are having a mare, there’s no obvious contender (maybe Bournemouth) in the chasing pack of who may be this year’s Forest in challenging for Europe, so if Newcastle can get back to winning against Wolves at home in a couple of weeks it could springboard some decent early season form before we hit stride in the winter again.
Or we’ll have a very expensive squad of failures, but it still beats the Ashley years of knowing 17th in the league and trying to get knocked out of the cups was our yearly ambition.
James, Leeds
Weekend thoughts
– Florian Wirtz looks all set to be the biggest flop of the season already. Not because he is the worst player, but he seems to be the worst player bang for his buck. Especially when Szoboszlai, Jones etc would be doing the same job for $0 spends.
– United with a keeper may challenge for the top 6. Without a keeper they are in a relegation battle.
– Where are the calls for Pep getting sacked? Because currently they are way below relegation candidates and perennial “worst team in the world” Manchester United.
– Liverpool winning while not playing well. Arsenal are afraid to go for a win and end up losing. Some things dont change. The title looks to be a fight between Liverpool, Chelsea and maybe Arsenal.
– This season all teams look too good to beat, even the promoted teams are whoopin ass. A very very tough season to call where any team will finish. Could be the most exciting relegation, top4 & title fight in years.
– Ekitike is good enough, not sure why Liverpool spent 130m on Isak now. Because who tf do you bench? Gakpo is in good form, so is Ekitike. Salah is currently unbenchable, but for how long? The only option is to bench 115 million pounds Wirtz and play Ekitike at 10.
– Jack Grealish, take a bow. What a return to the league.
– International football needs to be shut down or kept to a bare minimum for the World Cup & Euros only. It’s so damn booooooooooooooooooooring. Can’t wait for the League to be back
Regards
Aman
Managing expectations
I enjoyed Paul McDevitt’s mail this morning analysing the Liverpool v Arsenal game, which included a whole lot of good point.
But, he came out with this nugget, which I had to respond to: ‘I am sure the powers that be who select Manager of the Month will find some reason to pick Frank, Moyes or, say, Le Bris.’
Paul, I would say in general terms no one gives a shit, and I doubt the managers do either! It’s a meaningless ‘award’ given out by nameless folks.
Move on, stop inventing reasons to be so defensive or paranoid about pointless sh*te like this!
PS – Thank you for the ‘Pre-Stewie’ warning. It is is much appreciated, please keep it up!
The last thing I need coming home for work (on the overnight shift, fixing broken Montreal folk & tourists) is an eyeful of that f**kwits nonsense.
A, LFC, Montreal
United front
Three former Man U managers fired by their new clubs this week.
Maybe it’s not just the players…..
A (I have decided to give Amorim until Christmas at least, can you let the club know please?), BXL
Whilst not wanting to comment on the current and future prospects of Mr Amorin at Manchester United, I did note that the three previous managers (Mourinho/Solksjaer/ten Hag) were all dismissed in the past 7 days and save for interim Ralph Rangnick who left by mutual agreement all other caretaker managers are also out of football (Giggs/Carrick/van Nistlerooy)
There’s a fine list of people ready to step in if united do want a change at the top, middle or bottom.
Paul (BRFC)
READ NEXT: Who will be next Man Utd manager if Ruben Amorim is sacked?
