Newcastle have been forced to delete a social media post which included the words “on sale now” alongside a picture of Alexander Isak as their attempts to drive sales for a pre-season fixture didn’t go to plan.
Newcastle will host Spanish side Espanyol at St James’ Park on Friday August 8 before they then take on Atletico Madrid the following day. The latter game has sold out and the club were trying to drive sales for the Espanyol clash.
Tickets are reasonably priced, but their choice of words and image did not go unnoticed by fans. The timing wasn’t ideal given we’re in the midst of the transfer window and Isak is one of Europe’s top strikers and attracting interest.
He’s just finished his third season with Newcastle, producing his best campaign yet, and the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and clubs abroad have all been linked. There has been no indication that Isak wants to leave and Newcastle don’t want to sell their leading light.
However the wording of their post was clearly something they acknowledged as it was later deleted and re-worded. One fan summed it up as they said: “A picture of Isak with a big ‘On sale now’ sign is not the best idea…”
Isak is by far the team’s most prized asset and would demand well in excess of £100million were he to leave, although there is no sign of that. Champions League qualification makes it significantly easier for the Magpies to keep hold of the Swede, who has three years left on his contract.
The capture of a trophy this season, with Isak scoring the Carabao Cup final, underlines Newcastle’s upward trajectory and whilst the club can match Isak’s ambitions he likely to remain without any noise of a possible exit.
Eddie Howe said on the club’s plans: “We want to keep our strongest players, I’ve said that ever since I’ve been here and sat in this seat. We have to try and keep our best players and bring in more good players to make us even stronger because the ambition of the club and everyone connected with the club is long-term success and that’s the only way to get that.”
Newcastle sporting director Paul Mitchell recently left the club just as their summer recruitment was due to begin. The club will seek to make some positive strides in the market following a relatively lowkey transfer window 12 months ago. They are being heavily linked with a lucrative move for Brighton’s Joao Pedro.
