Sport
Players ‘downing tools’ to force deals through
Believe it or not, the summer transfer window is seen by some as the most exciting and dramatic period in the football calendar, despite no competitive action being played. In some ways, it is understandable; after all, signing players is what generates the buzz of what could happen. Hope is what the game is about, and it is harder to dash if your team isn’t losing at the weekend.
But for all the coverage around the window, it is hard to understand how it works. Deals can be done in many different ways, instigated by an increasing number of involved parties. If anything, the mystery is growing; more and more details are being decided or influenced away from the headlines, which is ironic because coverage has never been greater or more intense. While it can be easy to think a transfer simply consists of a player, a buying club and a selling club, so much more is at play, including the less than straightforward actions of those involved.
One example that is particularly pertinent is ‘downing tools’. Because there is so much money in football these days, transfers are becoming increasingly more convoluted; fees and wages are higher than ever, as is income from TV revenue, particularly in the Premier League. The top players, and even the best players at midtable English clubs whose income dwarves even some of Europe’s biggest, are becoming increasingly priced out of the market.
Perhaps that swing of the pendulum is needed to help, up to a point, restore some balance; not so long ago, player power was absolute and contracts were not worth the paper they were written on. Footballers who want moves that aren’t justifiable to the selling club often take matters into their own hands.
Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak is an interesting case study. He wants to join Liverpool this summer, and the Premier League champions are keen to bid for the Sweden star. But he scored 27 goals last season, including the winner in a cup final against the Reds in March to help the Magpies end 70 years of domestic waiting. Naturally, Newcastle, who also qualified for the Champions League, want to keep Isak and value him at a minimum of £150m. Crucially, though, their main aim has been to agree a new contract with their talisman, whose current deal has three years to run.
Although it has long been known Isak would like to move to Anfield, he needed to agitate for the move to change Newcastle’s stance. Such is his standing at the club, with the fans and manager Eddie Howe, there was no expectation he would do that, as he trained with the team in Austria last week. But since the Reds made their interest known, Isak has claimed to be injured, missed a friendly defeat at Celtic and failed to travel on the tour of Asia; his desire to leave is an open secret, as is the exaggeration of his injury.
Newcastle already need to another striker to replace Callum Wilson as Isak’s understudy after he left this summer. The man they want is Yoane Wissa of Brentford, and the 28-year-old appears to have been even less subtle than Isak in his desire to force through a deal; after leaving the club’s pre-season training camp, he has told the club he will not play for them again and wants to move to Tyneside. Despite only having one year on his deal at the Gtech Community Stadium with a club option on a second, Brentford are demanding £50m. Newcastle don’t want to pay it.
Both situations are at a bit of an impasse. It is far from the most respectful act in football, rarely even admitted to publicly. Fans of the clubs these players are attempting to leave don’t deserve to see their favourite players refuse to play, especially when they are paid millions to live their dream. If anything, it is evidence of how strong a play agents have in making transfers happen. Footballers feed off love and adulation, from fans but also team-mates and managers; but agents are cold, business figures serving the interests of clients by any means necessary. Isak and Wissa will likely have been instructed not to get involved with training and matches; it probably hurts them on a personal level, but they will see it as the way to get things going in their favour.
It isn’t right but it happens, and will only happen more as the money grows. But Liverpool fans who criticised Trent Alexander-Arnold for the way he acted before his move to Real Madrid, despite never refusing to play, are not queuing up to denounce Isak. Newcastle fans, hurt by Isak breaking their trust, would be happy for Wissa to dig in more if it increased his chances of strengthening their attack.
Everybody can justify something if it benefits them, and so it has proven. It requires hypocrisy and mental gymnastics, but only really serves to shine a light on the truth: Football is all about love and emotion on the surface, but the business is cold and ruthless. Players will get what they want, even if it means burning all their bridges, and ultimately, that is quite sad.
