Dan Burn has revealed that Alexander Isak messaged the Newcastle United players’ WhatsApp group after sealing his move to Liverpool. Magpies defender Burn was asked on Friday ahead of England’s clash with Andorra about the toxic Isak transfer saga, which finally came to a head on deadline day as the Reds signed him for a British record fee of £125million.
Isak, from the outside, had severed all ties with Newcastle due to the manner of his departure, which saw the Swedish striker effectively go on strike to force his move. He did not take part in pre-season or feature in any of Newcastle’s opening three games of the season, having issued a bombshell statement in which he slammed the north east club for “breaking promises”. That, in turn, led to his former supporters confronting him on the streets and aiming chants at him which labelled him “greedy”.
Newcastle stars Sven Botman and Anthony Gordon therefore faced backlash from their own fans for posting good luck messages on social media after his Liverpool move was announced. But Burn has now made it clear that the duo’s sentiments were shared by the majority of the squad, including himself, as he admitted he doesn’t hold any grudges against Isak for pushing his move to Anfield.
The 33-year-old boyhood Magpies fan revealed that Isak exchanged messages with the squad on their WhatsApp group, expressing gratitude for the memories they created together. He said: “Alex is my mate at the end of the day, so it was a tough situation, but I’m glad that we’re getting a good return on a player that we’ve had, and he’s getting the move that he wanted.
“He put a message in the chat just saying that he was leaving, and thanks for the memories, all that sort of stuff, and the lads replied.” Burn added: “Yeah, of course (it was all positive). But as I said, I think Alex is getting what he wants, and now we’ve just got to focus and do what we can with the players that we’ve got.
“It has brought us closer, really. I’m not silly, I’ve been around football a long time and people have short careers.
“They want to max out absolutely everything they can, so there’s no hard feelings from me. I have nothing but good wishes for Alex. I understand why our fans are frustrated, but there is no animosity.”
Isak’s Sweden team-mate Anthony Elanga, who joined Newcastle from Nottingham Forest earlier this summer, is disappointed not to play alongside his compatriot on Tyneside as well as for their country. But he said: “It’s his choice. He chose Liverpool, good luck to him. He is a friend to me and a fantastic footballer.”