Alexander Isak's behaviour labelled 'sad' as his replacement's conduct also slammed

The manner of certain transfers, like the one involving Alexander Isak's move from Newcastle to Liverpool, has disappointed former Manchester United striker Louis Saha

Alexander Isak has been told that the manner of his transfer to Liverpool has damaged the game. Having become a Newcastle United hero, the Swede has been at the centre of a summer-long tug of war between the Magpies and Liverpool.

Newcastle were adamant their star striker was not for sale and turned down the champions' first bid. However, after Isak effectively went on strike and issued an explosive social media statement expressing his desire to leave, he eventually got his wish, leading to widespread criticism, including from his now former manager, Eddie Howe.

Liverpool paid a British record £125million to land Isak, who could make his Reds debut at Burnley on Sunday. There was a similar standoff involving Yoane Wissa and Brentford before the Congo forward sealed his move to Newcastle as one of Isak's replacements.

The circumstances around those transfers didn’t sit well with former Manchester United and Newcastle striker Louis Saha, who believes the conduct of certain players and agents is taking something away from the game.

Saha told Gambling.com: "Yeah, that's sad [Isak and Wissa forcing moves to other clubs]. Football has been taken away. The values are being taken down. That's football today, and it's the same for managers. Sometimes you can get sacked for two or three bad games.

"So there are a lot of elements where the commercial aspect has been very ruthless and not nice. This is why the agents may have said to those guys, 'I don't care about your image, do the thing that's going to get us the move,' and he [the agent] is not getting exposed."

Saha suspects some players may feel compelled to act against their wishes, adding: "I'm sure that the players want to respect the team and the players around them [in the club they want to leave].

"But this is a strategy, and those guys are forced to do things that they may dislike. I remember myself being in a situation where I was asked to do something like this, to request to move or something like this.

"This is my limit. I want to play and respect the players. So I think it's sad, but it is what the world is now." Having played no competitive club football this season, Isak is likely to begin his Liverpool career on the bench. Meanwhile, Wissa will have to wait to make his Newcastle debut after being ruled out of the home clash with Wolves through injury.