Two major Alexander Isak issues ‘revealed’ as Swede asks to leave Newcastle

The former Spurs and Monaco man arrived to much fanfare last season, but amidst tense relations with Eddie Howe and the disaster of the Marc Guehi saga, he and the club abruptly went their separate ways back in May.

In the fallout of Mitchell’s departure, stories began to emerge about just how flawed some of Mitchell’s planning and activity was, such as wanting to avoid paying so much money for the full back pairing of Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento.

But in the wake of today’s news surrounding Alexander Isak, and if a new report is to be believed, Paul Mitchell may have just made himself public enemy no.1 on Tyneside in the eyes of the fans…

According to The Mail’s Craig Hope, Alexander Isak felt “furious” that the club, in a decision spearheaded by Mitchell, refused to gift him a salary increase previously promised before Amanda Staveley’s exit.

In more exclusive information from The Mail, Hope writes “Mitchell, not without reason given the club’s Profit and Sustainability peril, took the view that Isak had four years to run on his contract and was already among the top earners.”

Whilst it’s easy to understand where Mitchell was coming from, as serious overspending had to be addressed and the club couldn’t afford to drastically break its wage structure to accommodate one player, it’s important to remember that said player was our top scorer for both the season prior and last season.

Our almost hypocritical perception of Isak as both one of the best players in the world in his position and also as a player seemingly undeserving a salary boost looks to have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

In the space of four years, to have gone from a relegation struggle to cup winners and Champions League qualifiers  is something very few would have expected from Newcastle back in late 2021.

But as remarkable as that progress has been, the club has failed to live up to expectations in a number of key areas, particularly in the eyes of both the fans and the players.

Hope adds that Isak was one of many players unsatisfied with the club’s perceived lack of ambition and drive to improve in terms of squad development and available facilities.

“He, like others, wanted to see the club and its Saudi owners show more ambition, not just talk about it in Amazon documentaries.”

“The players wanted – and want – new signings, a new training ground, tangible signals of intent and progression.”

The 2025 summer transfer window was hyped up to be one of great excitement and transformation on Tyneside.

With money finally ready to be spent and the allure of Champions League football, it was finally going to be a time where we could create the squad that Eddie Howe and the fans deserved to have.

Instead, a series of departures, still no added commercial options, and now the prospect of the club’s best player this century leaving, can perhaps all be traced back to some questionable financial decisions and moments of hesitation and penny pinching from years ago.

There’s still a lot of time left in this window, and simply anything can happen between now and September.

But with every passing hour, it’s almost becoming a lot more understandable as to why Alexander Isak wants to leave this summer, and no one quite knows if the relationship between the player and the club can be salvaged at this point.