Carra on player power: Isak, Wissa sagas could lead to a sad day for football

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Jamie Carragher believes the Alexander Isak and Yoane Wissa transfer sagas could lead to a “sad day for football” in the future – after both strikers effectively went on strike in order to gain their moves.

Isak and Wissa were two of the key players on a dramatic Transfer Deadline Day. Isak sealed a British record £125m move to Liverpool from Newcastle, while Brentford striker Wissa headed to St James’ Park in a deal worth up to £55m.

Both players were united in not featuring for their teams in pre-season or the opening three games of the Premier League, though Wissa did make himself available for training before his Brentford exit. Both Isak and Wissa also published explosive statements on social media calling for exits this summer.

Another key player on Monday’s final day of the window, however, was Marc Guehi – whose £35m deal to Liverpool collapsed after his club Crystal Palace pulled out of the deal.

The England international behaved impeccably throughout the window, playing and training for Palace throughout – and Carragher was asked if Isak and Wissa being granted exits for worse behaviour is a worrying sign.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, Carragher replied: “You look at Guehi, who conducted himself fantastically well and still feels a fan favourite with the Palace supporters and the manager speaking highly of him as well. He will have to wait maybe until January now or next summer to get that move.

“Other players in this position in a year’s time will look at how Isak and Wissa have gone about it and how that gives them a greater opportunity to get out – and that would be a sad day for football. Because I don’t think it’s been great how both players have conducted themselves.

“I have no issue with players wanting to leave a club – transfers happen and it’s part and parcel of the game. It’s understandable that those two players want to move on and play for bigger clubs to give them a better chance for their careers and to win more silverware, or maybe gain more money.

“But I can’t help but think that if someone is putting thousands of pounds in your bank account every week, you should be training and playing.

“But would both those players have moved if that wasn’t the case? We don’t know. Both players have not got what they want, you have to move on for that. Let’s see what happens for both players for Liverpool and Newcastle respectively.”

From his own experience of a Premier League dressing room, Carragher also feels that Isak and Wissa would have been welcomed back by their previous clubs with open arms if they had not secured their move, making their summer sagas even more troubling.

“There were two or three incidents like that when I was a player at Liverpool,” said Carragher. “Certainly so when I moved on and notably with Luis Suarez.

“But players are like supporters, they can forgive really quickly. When you play a game of football, you want the best players on the pitch. And if someone is giving you a greater chance of winning games or trophies, you get over it.

“If either of those players would have stayed at those club – Isak, Wissa or anyone else involved in transfers – it can change really quickly in the eyes of the supporters because as soon as they start scoring goals, everyone’s celebrating, people are hugging and kissing them, and it’s all forgotten.”

‘Hard not to make Liverpool PL favourites’

The signing of Isak took Liverpool’s summer spending to a record £446m – more than any team in a single Premier League window.

And Carragher says it is now hard not to look past Liverpool being Premier League title favourites – especially seeing the Reds be the only team with a 100 per cent record after three matches this term.

“When the champions go and spent around £400m in the transfer market, it’s hard not to make them favourites,” Carragher said.

“The worrying thing for the opposition is that Liverpool have nine points out of nine and I wouldn’t say in any of those three games, they haven’t been at their best, or at least the team we saw last season.

“It will be interesting to see how long it takes to bed in the new players, the new system, a new way of doing things. If Liverpool are doing that and still getting results, that is a big worry for the rest.”

‘Isak a more important signing than Guehi’

Carragher also reacted to the news that Guehi’s transfer fell through – despite both Liverpool and Palace submitting the deal sheet to allow them extra time to complete the transfer on Monday night.

Guehi was given permission to undergo a London medical with Liverpool after the clubs agreed on the £35m fee – but Palace’s inability to find a replacement, after Brighton defender Igor Julio chose West Ham instead, was a critical factor.

“They would be disappointed because they wanted the player and they didn’t get him,” said Carragher.

“There was a lot of talk over the last couple of weeks saying Marc Guehi was more important than bringing Isak in, I don’t agree with that at all. Liverpool only had one centre forward – they needed to buy a striker, there’s no doubt about that, whether it was Isak or not.

“Liverpool have the numbers at centre-back. It’s just a question of whether they have the quality. What Liverpool have had in the last year – and what they will have now until Christmas – is no real competition for the first-choice centre-back positions in Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk.

“They have two back-up options in Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni. So they definitely have four centre-backs, which is what most clubs want. In an emergency, I think Ryan Gravenberch can play there as well. Liverpool will just get to January and then try to resurrect the Guehi deal.

“But what Guehi would have done was have three centre-backs for two positions – create real competition, certainly for Konate.

“We understand there’s a situation with Konate’s contract and Van Dijk is getting older. So Liverpool did need a centre-back.

“But it wasn’t as imperative as bringing in a striker, as Hugo Ekitike wouldn’t have been able to lead the line on his own until Christmas.”

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