THERE is a reason why the National Union of Alexander Isak has downed tools, hoping to stage a one-man Jarrow march to Anfield.
And it’s this: Going on strike in the Premier League actually works.
There is a recurring theme with players who refuse to play and demand a move — throw your toys out of the pram and you will get your own way.
High-profile examples include Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham to Manchester United, Raheem Sterling from Liverpool to Manchester City, Diego Costa from Chelsea to Atletico Madrid, Dimitri Payet from West Ham to Marseille and William Gallas.
Gallas even threatened to score own goals as a Chelsea player unless he was sold to Arsenal.
The fascinating aspect with Isak is that nobody has ever previously tried going on strike when their ultimate bosses are the richest owners in world football.
Newcastle United’s Saudi paymasters are not known for tolerating dissent.
So how will the bankrollers of the Saudi Public Investment Fund cope with such a flagrant show of defiance out here in the free world?
Their natural inclination will be to play hardball and not to lose face by capitulating to the demands of a player who has three years left on his contract.
And while the Saudis certainly do have more money than sense, they are also acutely aware that PSR regulations are hampering Newcastle and that an improved bid of around £140million would make financial sense.
Adding to the intrigue surrounding Liverpool’s interest in Isak is the fact that Arne Slot’s champions are heading to St James’ Park on Monday night.
It is surely unthinkable — even if Liverpool make a serious improvement on their initial £110m bid — that Newcastle would strike a deal before that fiendishly-scheduled fixture.
Should Isak make his Liverpool debut at St James’ Park, it would make Luis Figo’s return to the Nou Camp — after joining Real Madrid from Barcelona — look like a teddy bear’s picnic.
On that occasion, almost a quarter of a century ago, Figo had an actual pig’s head thrown at him as he prepared to take a corner.
But if Isak’s move to Liverpool happens, it would surely come much closer to the September 1 transfer deadline.
Either way, there seems to be no way back for Isak at Newcastle. Players who go on strike are rarely reintegrated, even temporarily.
For fans this is the ultimate betrayal. Quite rightly, they have no sympathy with a player who is earning £6m per year and demanding even more.
Even though the Swede’s current wage is well below the going rate for a world class striker.
And for team-mates, who generally understand a fellow professional’s desire to better himself, refusing to play crosses a line.
Newcastle, decked out in Saudi green, played without a specialist centre-forward as they failed to break down ten-man Aston Villa on Saturday.
And it is reasonable to assume they would have won that match with Isak in the side.
To be short-handed for just a couple of matches can make the difference between success and failure come the end of the season.
Yet, equally, Isak’s desire to win the biggest trophies is being stymied by Newcastle’s PSR shackles.
At 25, he is approaching his peak and knows his current club are unlikely to win either the Premier League or Champions League this season or next.
Liverpool, always holier-than-thou, will stand on the sidelines as if butter wouldn’t melt — and history suggests they will get their man.
Unless the Saudis keep Isak in isolation. And there are plenty of people not usually inclined towards praising the Saudi state who would admire them if they do just that.
Hammer blow
WEST HAM became the first team in three years to lose a Premier League match in August to a newly promoted club when they were gubbed 3-0 at Sunderland.
Graham Potter always felt like a bad fit for the East London outfit — the man with a degree in emotional intelligence meets supporters who go around in public making crossed-arm gestures and shouting ‘Irons! Irons!’
After five wins in 20 games for him — and this, one of the most alarming opening-weekend defeats in years — Hammers vice-chair Karren Brady says the club will not panic and tend to stick with managers.
Still, Potter has already outlasted his predecessor, Julen Lopetegui, who survived for only six months in the great London Stadium atmosphere vacuum.
Potter’s former employers Chelsea arrive there on Friday — and any repeat of Saturday’s debacle on Wearside would put his job under serious threat.
Tick tock
THE new law which penalises time-wasting by keepers with the concession of a corner is a good one.
Referee Michael Oliver clamped down on Burnley’s Martin Dubravka in the opening minutes of the Clarets’ 3-0 defeat by Tottenham.
Let’s hope refs actually stick with this edict — unlike several other new-season law tweaks which are usually forgotten about by September.
Pool-ful of cash
LIVERPOOL have agreed a £25million fee to sell Ben Doak to Bournemouth… and if you’re not sure who Ben Doak is, he’s a teenage midfielder who has played three Premier League games for the Anfield club.
If you think this fee is extraordinary for such an inexperienced player then what about Sepp van den Berg, sold by Liverpool to Brentford for £25m without ever having played a league match for the Reds.
Or Fabio Carvalho, sold by Liverpool to Brentford for £22.5m after 13 Premier League appearances for the Merseysiders.
They aren’t the only Liverpool youngsters who have been flogged for millions after failing to nail down regular first-team places.
There’s Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen for £35m, Tyler Morton to Lyon for £15m, Bobby Clark to Red Bull Salzburg for £10m and, going back a little further, Rhian Brewster to Sheffield United for £23.5m and Jordon Ibe to Bournemouth for £15m.
This is how you win at PSR.
All gone to (set) pieces
THERE was plenty of doom and gloom surrounding Brentford in pre-season following the loss of their manager, top scorer, captain and keeper.
And when you promote your set-piece coach, Keith Andrews, to the managerial hotseat, conceding from one such play inside five minutes of the opening defeat by Nottingham Forest, is not a good look.
Moneyball
BARCELONA will face Villarreal in a LaLiga match in Miami — a development which should worry us all.
The December fixture was supposed to be Villarreal’s home match — giving Barca a clear advantage over every other team in Spain.
It also means that Yellow Submarine fans must now travel across six time zones in order to watch their team play at ‘home’.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters claims the English top flight has no plans to follow suit.
Let’s see how long that lasts when they realise there’s money in it.
Cannon fodder
WITH Arsenal the undisputed kings of the set-piece and Thomas Frank’s Tottenham carpet-bombing opponents with Rory Delap-style long throw-ins, we can all look forward to November 22.
That will be the first North London derby ever to be contested entirely under Pulisball.
Stoke Newington is the new Stoke City.
Keeping it real
RUBEN AMORIM said last season he would rather name his 65-year-old goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital as a sub than Marcus Rashford.
Yet if Manchester United’s keepers carry on committing match-losing mistakes, maybe Amorim should have tried out Rashford as a goalkeeping coach?
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