Alexander Isak is on strike. There is no other way for those inside or outside Newcastle United to dress it up now. His words and actions mean he is unavailable for Saturday lunchtime’s Premier League opener at .
He does not want to train with the squad and, by extension, that rules him out of all fixtures for the foreseeable future, while the club continue to pay his £140,000-a-week wages. As of last weekend, he had not been disciplined by way of a club fine. We understand that will change if he misses a competitive match, as he will this weekend.