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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Newcastle left with uncomfortable feeling that Isak wants more and romance is dead
Football is a market. It has always been a market and it is more of a market now than it has ever been before. Everybody is constantly looking for a better deal, and everybody has a price. Every club has its place in the ecosystem and those higher up the chain will always take from those below them, who in turn will take from those below them. All a club can ever hope to do is to inch their way higher and higher in the structure, to increase the number of clubs they can feed on while reducing the number of predators who can feed on them. It may be reassuring to think of the legendary servants, the one-club men of the past, but even the term 'servants' betrays an uncomfortable truth. From 1885, when professionalism was legalised and the great clubs of the industrial north and Midlands began to acquire talent from Scotland, footballers have been a product to be traded. From 1963, when the retain-and-transfer system was scrapped, and increasingly after the Bosman ruling of 1995, players have had agency, although even before that there were cases such as that of Wilf Mannion, who went on strike to try to force a move from Middlesbrough to Oldham. Since financial fair play rules began to be introduced 15 years ago, preventing an owner splurging a fortune on elevating his side, the clubs climbing the ladder most successfully are those who have accepted their position within the hierarchy and traded accordingly. Brighton's ascent to become a top-10 Premier League side has been based almost entirely on their ability to identify talent early and sell it at an enormous profit to Chelsea. There remains a reluctance to be seen as a selling club, but other than Real Madrid everybody is a selling club now. Far better to be a selling club than a letting-a-player-run-down-his-contract-and-leave-on-a-free club. Clubs who will have regarded themselves as the elite, as destination clubs, have to accept that almost everybody is a stepping stone . Perhaps for those who are battling to return to the elite, who are not confident in their status, that is a difficult adjustment to make. Which brings us to Alexander Isak. The dance of briefing and counter-briefing that has played out over the past couple of weeks has been fascinating and, frankly, a little baffling. If Isak wanted to leave Newcastle – and he was considering his future in the final weeks of last season – why wait until after Liverpool signed Hugo Ekitiké and Chelsea acquired Liam Delap and João Pedro, as well as for Arsenal's move for Viktor Gyökeres to be at an extremely advanced stage, to make that public? Does the scarcity of centre-forwards on the market push his price up? Or does the fact that potential suitors have no burning need for a striker reduce it? Understandably, Newcastle fans are reluctant to see the Swede go. He is, after all, probably the club's best player since Alan Shearer. He is only 25; once upon a time it would have been possible to dream of him staying for the best part of a decade, scoring 200 goalsb. Last season was the best Newcastle have known since the first Kevin Keegan era. They won the Carabao Cup, their first domestic silverware in 70 years, qualified for the Champions League and their line was led by one of the world's most coveted strikers. It was possible to imagine a future when Isak was joined by players of similar stature. But that is not how modern football works. Isak wants more: more money (and his £120,000-a-week salary does seem below the market rate) and a more consistent chance of winning trophies. Newcastle could hang on to him, hope he does not succumb to bitterness and try to add further stars. Or they could take £140m and invest it in strengthening the squad as a whole, accumulating more assets who can be sold at a profit so more can be bought, driving their ascent. It is cold and mercantile, it is far from the romance many would like to see in the game, but it is also the reality. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion There are two problems. First, the sense of loss if Isak goes, which is particularly acute for a fanbase that still carries the collective memory of the departures of Chris Waddle, Peter Beardsley and Paul Gascoigne in the 80s and the fear that the Saudi Public Investment Fund may essentially turn out to be the habitually beleaguered Stan Seymour in disguise. Isak is not the only Newcastle player pondering his future and there is a danger his departure is the start of a mini-exodus. Second, there is a lack of faith that the club is equipped to make the most of such a windfall. Paul Mitchell left this summer after a year as sporting director and although Jack Ross has been appointed as head of football strategy and Sudarshan Gopaladesikan as technical director, with Ross Wilson likely to be named as sporting director soon, it is unreasonable to expect anybody taking up a role in July to coordinate a coherent transfer strategy for a window that closes on 1 September, particularly with Darren Eales stepping down as chief executive because of illness. There has already been disquiet about a lack of incoming players, with Anthony Elanga the only senior signing to date as Newcastle have missed out on a number of targets, most recently James Trafford, who preferred to rejoin Manchester City. Although plans are being drawn up for a new stadium, there were fears last season that Newcastle might be the victims of a more general Saudi retrenchment. Meeting profitability and sustainability rules remains a check on expenditure, but with Champions League football this season there were reasons to expect the budget to be a little more generous. Instead, there is a sense of drift. In part that is misfortune, given the illnesses suffered by Eales and Amanda Staveley, who sold her stake in the club last summer. But the appointment of Mitchell never seemed a comfortable fit and the result is a vacuum. Last season was supposed to be the beginning of a glorious future for Newcastle; the fear within the frustrations of the past few weeks is that it was actually a summit.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
EU chief von der Leyen heads to Scotland for trade talks with Trump
BRUSSELS/EDINBURGH, July 26 (Reuters) - EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen headed to Scotland on Saturday ahead of a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday afternoon, commission spokespeople said, as EU officials said the two sides were nearing a trade agreement. Trump, in Scotland for a few days of golfing and bilateral meetings, told reporters upon his arrival on Friday evening that he was looking forward to meeting with von der Leyen, calling her a "highly respected" leader. He repeated his view that there was a 50-50 chance that the U.S. and the 27-member European Union could reach a framework trade pact, adding that Brussels wanted to "make a deal very badly". If it happened, he said it would be the biggest trade agreement reached yet by his administration, surpassing the $550 billion accord agreed with Japan earlier this week. The White House has released no details about the planned meeting or the terms of the emerging agreement. The European Commission on Thursday said a negotiated trade solution with the United States was within reach, even as EU members voted to approve counter-tariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) of U.S. goods in case the talks collapse. To get a deal, Trump said the EU would have to "buy down" that tariff rate, although he gave no specifics. EU diplomats say a possible deal between Washington and Brussels would likely include a broad 15% tariff on EU goods imported into the U.S., mirroring the U.S.-Japan deal, along with a 50% tariff on European steel and aluminum. The broad tariff rate would be half the 30% duties that Trump has threatened to slap on EU goods from August 1. It remains unclear if Washington will agree to exempt the EU from sectoral tariffs on automobiles, pharmaceuticals and other goods that have already been announced or are pending. Combining goods, services and investment, the EU and the United States are each other's largest trading partners by far. The American Chamber of Commerce in Brussels warned in March that any conflict jeopardized $9.5 trillion of business in the world's most important commercial relationship.
Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Telegraph
European leaders are disrupting Trump's golfing holiday at their peril
When president Donald Trump stepped off Air Force One on to Scottish soil, he had one thing on his mind. 'There's no place like Turnberry,' he told his travelling press pool beneath the wing of his presidential jet. His Ayrshire golf course, he continued, was 'the best … probably the best course in the world'. Minutes later, he climbed into the Beast – his armoured limousine - to travel 35 minutes along country lanes and through Scottish villages, lined with supporters, protesters, and the merely curious, to Turnberry. Mr Trump may be determined to have a break, but European leaders have other ideas. Willingly or otherwise, Mr Trump faces a string of meetings in the coming days as the Continent's power brokers sit down with the unpredictable president. For now, though, he is secure inside a ring of steel. The historic course, home to some of the most exciting Opens in history, has been locked down. It now sits inside an eight-foot fence, its fairways dotted with burly men in dark suits and earpieces. Snipers watch over the course from a watch tower. Police officers – some on quad bikes – patrol the famous course and the dunes that flank it. Mr Trump arrived with his golf clubs for four days at his two Scottish courses but without some of the trappings of a travelling American president. He travelled with a stripped-down retinue of aides. There was no chief of staff, director of communications, secretary of state or other cabinet ministers, who might be expected on an important foreign trip. His public weekend schedule showed no planned events. Instead, it was a chance to spend time at his golf course with his sons Eric, who manages the family businesses, and Don Jr. Officials insisted that this was a 'working trip' including a meeting with Sir Keir Starmer on Monday, although they were vague on agenda items. Yet all that changed shortly before Mr Trump flew out of Washington, when Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, announced on X that she would be meeting Mr Trump on Sunday as she closes in on a trade deal: Following a good call with @POTUS, we have agreed to meet in Scotland on Sunday to discuss transatlantic trade relations, and how we can keep them strong. — Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 25, 2025 EU members have drawn up a retaliatory hit list. The plan is to impose 30pc tariffs on bourbon whisky, yachts, soybeans and other American products if a deal cannot be reached by August 1 to lift US levies. Mrs von der Leyen had better tread carefully. A diplomat who has prepared ministers for meetings with Mr Trump said she was playing a high-risk game. 'Very dangerous,' they said. Mr Trump's chat with reporters at Glasgow Prestwick Airport showed a president relaxed and looking forward to four days of golf, but one who was quick to bristle when it came to policy and politics. Mr Trump left Washington bugged by the drip, drip, drip of headlines about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire paedophile who took his own life in a jail cell six years ago. He flashed irritation and lobbed sharp words at reporters who asked him how much he knew about the case on Friday, but relaxed as soon as he could talk about the love of his life: golf and the course at Turnberry. 'Sean Connery helped get me the permits,' he claimed after landing. 'If it weren't for Sean Connery, we wouldn't have those great courses.' There is a lesson for European leaders looking to muscle in on his tee times with their trade demands or for John Swinney, the Scottish First Minister, who is likely to tell Mr Trump that his tariffs are hurting the Scotch whisky industry. When the chat with reporters turned from golf to more substantial matters, he said he had a simple message for Europe. 'On immigration, you better get your act together,' he said in another flash of passion. 'You're not going to have Europe anymore... This immigration is killing Europe.' Anyone meeting with Mr Trump will remember the lessons of Volodymyr Zelensky's Oval Office row. The Ukrainian president was roundly chastised by Mr Trump and his vice president for daring to push back on the US position. And by hosting leaders at his Turnberry and Aberdeenshire courses, Mr Trump retains home advantage even while on foreign soil. Sir Keir may have got the memo. Mr Trump billed their meeting as little more than a chance to celebrate their recent trade deal. Although the Prime Minister does run the risk of upsetting Mr Trump over plans to raise the plight of civilians in Gaza, British officials played down the chances of any major diplomatic announcements. 'It's not like other meetings where we would go in with deliverables we planned to announce,' he said. On Saturday, all that was far from Mr Trump's mind. He spent the day golfing with son Eric, and his ambassador to London. The sound of Billy Joel's 'Uptown Girl' and 'Memories' from the musical Cats drifted out from the dunes on Saturday morning as Mr Trump's motorcade of golf buggies arrived at the fourth hole. Photographers huddled on a mound in the dunes, hoping to get a shot of the president on the course. Mr Trump, wearing a white USA cap and dressed in black, waved at the mound before teeing off in the direction of Turnberry lighthouse. Cheers from his baseball-cap-wearing entourage could be heard above the din of the speakers as the group wasted little time in rattling off their drives. A photographer camped in the dunes with a long lens later claimed to have witnessed the president cheat on the third fairway. He said Mr Trump had been handed a ball by a caddy, which he then dropped to the floor and pushed forward a little with an iron before taking a swing. The golf course has been surrounded by an eight-foot-high metal fence, while dozens of officers patrolled the entrances to the beach from Turnberry all the way down to Maidens, the next town along the coast. A temporary watchtower had been erected to monitor the Turnberry perimeter with a sniper rifle trained on the course below. A drone scanned from above, and police boats patrolled the coastal waters. Asked whether there would be a repeat of protesters taking to the beach in front of the golf club, an officer said the incident in 2018 had likely convinced the authorities to close off the entire beach to the public. Fears that the visit would be a magnet for protesters appeared unfounded. Matt Halliday, from Stranraer, said he had been driving around for two hours trying and failing to find protests to join. He said Mr Trump had 'stamped all over Scotland' with his grand golf resort plans, strong-arming local farmers and 'bullying' the council over wind farm plans. One of his signs bore a picture of the president with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. 'I think it is going to bring him down,' he said. However, supporters were easier to find than protesters. Two wearing red 'Make England Great Again' hats arrived shortly after the president had disappeared over the crest of a dune. 'We love Trump,' said Kay English, 37, wearing a face mask sporting the president's face. Tom English, a 38-year-old driver, said the pair had driven up from Liverpool last night to catch a glimpse of the president. 'We support Maga, Trump and what he is doing,' he told reporters, adding: 'I like the way he is, the way he speaks. It is comedy gold. 'He is putting the people first. He is trying to help the whole world to make peace - he is the president of peace.' Mr English said he would return on Sunday and hopefully get within 'shouting distance' to offer words of encouragement to the president and cheer on his cost-cutting Doge unit. He added: 'We love Doge, we are trying to get that here through Reform. There is so much being wasted.' Mr Trump has long blurred the line between family, business and public life. But any world leader intruding on his golfing getaway had better be ready for a possible sharp response.
