LONDON: Newcastle defender Dan Burn insisted on Friday he feels “no animosity” toward Alexander Isak following the striker’s drawn-out move to Premier League rivals Liverpool.
Isak effectively went on strike in order to force a move through a move to the English champions, with a British record £125 million ($169 million) transfer finally completed on Monday’s deadline day of the summer window.
Newcastle fans turned on their one-time hero and while Burn was sympathetic toward their feelings, the Magpies center-half accepts the Sweden striker had to look after himself.
“I’ve been in football long enough to understand that for a player, the careers are short and they’ve got things that they want to achieve,” Burn said ahead of England’s World Cup qualifier with Andorra on Saturday. “So for me, happy that it’s over.
“Alex is a mate, so it was tough situation because you wanted him to be around and helping the team, but also understand for him, what he needs to do personally. So I’ve got nothing but good wishes for Alex.
“No animosity, I think as a Newcastle fan, and you know what Newcastle fans are like, we’re very protective of our club, and our city.”
He added: “You want players to be there who want to play for Newcastle, and naively you don’t want them to think that there’s anywhere else to go, apart from playing at Newcastle.
“So I understand why our fans are frustrated. But as I said, I think I’ve been in the game long enough now to understand what goes on.
“I wish Alex all the best, apart from when we play Liverpool.”
Newcastle’s Burn has ‘nothing but good wishes’ for Isak
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Newcastle’s Burn has ‘nothing but good wishes’ for Isak
- “I’ve been in football long enough to understand that for a player, the careers are short and they’ve got things that they want to achieve,” Burn said
- “I’ve got nothing but good wishes for Alex”
Pakistan opt to bat first against England at T20 World Cup
- “It looks like a good pitch. We want to put up an above-par score and defend that,” Ali Agha said
- England have a lot of knowledge about the conditions in Pallekele
PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka: Pakistan won the toss against England and elected to bat first in the Twenty20 World Cup Super Eights game on Tuesday.
“It looks like a good pitch. We want to put up an above-par score and defend that,” Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said.
England started the second round with a resounding 51-run win over co-host Sri Lanka at the same venue last Sunday while Pakistan’s opening game against New Zealand was washed out in Colombo.
England have a lot of knowledge about the conditions in Pallekele, where they have won all four T20s over the last few weeks, including a 3-0 series win against Sri Lanka before the tournament.
Pakistan batters have been struggling in the tournament and, except for opener Sahibzada Farhan, the World Cup leading run-scorer with 220, no one else has scored more than 100 runs.
Pakistan left out allrounder Faheem Ashraf and brought back fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi while mystery spinner Usman Tariq was preferred over leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed.
England captain Harry Brook hoped the “fresh pitch” would play better for chasing.
England named the same XI for the fifth match in a row in the tournament, staying faithful to struggling opener Jos Buttler.
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Lineups:
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq.
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (captain), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.
