Bruno Guimarães has admitted that Newcastle United cannot afford to lose more of their best players after watching Alexander Isak successfully force a transfer to Liverpool.
The Magpies were reluctant to let Isak go but eventually had to concede defeat when the striker went public with his desire to leave and spent the majority of preseason separate from the squad. Once the decision was made to sell, at least it was for a British record £125 million ($169.5 million).
“You have the financial fair play and I don’t know if this affects things or not—I’m not under the table to see the circumstance to see what was going on. Football is business,” the Newcastle skipper reflected when speaking to reporters this week.
“As a player, we don’t want to lose our best players, if you want to be successful. We have to improve our squad, and I think we did this very well in this summer—we look forward to go again.”
Isak steered Newcastle to Carabao Cup final victory over Liverpool last season, delivering the club’s first domestic trophy since 1955 in the process. But the opportunity to join the reigning Premier League champions, even though Newcastle can offer Champions League football, was too much of a lure for the ambitious Sweden international to resist.
Newcastle, who have been relegated from the Premier League within the last 10 years, have made significant progress since their Saudi-led takeover was completed in late 2021. The 2022–23 season marked qualification for the Champions League for the first time in two decades and the club secured their place again this season, but challenging the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal in the Premier League title race is another huge jump to try and make.
“I want to win things,” Bruno added.
“I have never changed my mind and I still look to make history at this club. We have been in the Champions League two times in the last three years, that is unbelievable for us. We have to keep that going. There is a big job for us to do here and I want to be part of this team.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Go Again’—Newcastle Captain Offers Final Verdict on Alexander Isak Loss.
