I showed my frustration, and the week after I was training with the kids' Alexander Isak's big Liverpool transfer saga shares parallel with ex-Anfield man

"Alexander Isak signed for Liverpool in a British record transfer deal (Image credit: Getty Images) Long-running summer transfer sagas are nothing new in the world of football. In fact, it's very rare that a big-name player at the height of their powers will move clubs without a great deal of back-and-forth that is usually only resolved by the payment of an eye-watering fee amid buckets of acrimony from fans of the selling club."

"It happened to me, albeit on a much lower scale, when I played for Stoke, Pennant recalls to FourFourTwo. It was all agreed that I was going to Leeds on loan, then out of nowhere, Tony Pulis blocked it. The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. He said, You are going to be in my plans', but then for the next game when we played Everton, he put me in the stands. I wasn't happy with that at all."

Alexander Isak moved from Newcastle United to Liverpool in a British-record £125 million transfer after a protracted summer saga. Isak trained away from Newcastle and accused the club hierarchy of breaking promises over his future, creating a bitter departure. Newcastle secured German forward Nick Woltemade as a replacement, allowing the clubs to complete the deadline-day agreement and finalize Isak’s switch. The transfer ended Isak’s time in the north-east and generated strong reactions from both sets of supporters. Jermaine Pennant experienced a similar personal episode at Stoke when a proposed loan to Leeds was blocked by manager Tony Pulis, who subsequently excluded him from the matchday squad.

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