Newcastle were considering bringing Alexander Isak back into the fold for this weekend’s double header but Eddie Howe has now accepted he cannot play amid talk of Liverpool transfer
Newcastle had planned to play Alexander Isak across this weekend’s set of games but Eddie Howe changed his mind on Friday night as he declared “we can’t involve him” as the noise around his future continues.
The future of their Swedish star has been front and centre in recent weeks after he missed their pre-season tour to Asia and made it known to those at the club that he wanted to explore his options away from St James’ Park.
Liverpool are viewed as his most likely destination and saw an opening bid of £110million rejected for Isak. The striker is having to train away from the first-team squad as the club decide on their next steps.
Newcastle drew 2-2 with Espanyol on Friday night and on Saturday afternoon will face Atletico Madrid. More than 100,000 fans are expected through the gates across the two matches and the Chronicle had reported that Howe was planning bring Isak back into the fold, depending on his fitness levels.
However the striker, who has excelled in his three years in the north east, was nowhere to be seen and the Newcastle boss confessed that given the state of affairs he could not be part of the squad.
READ MORE: Arne Slot makes ‘wait and see’ admission on Liverpool transfers after £300m summer spendREAD MORE: New Alexander Isak statement issued by Newcastle boss Eddie Howe: ‘I can’t involve him’
He said: “We’ve had discussions and it’s clear at the moment that we can’t involve him with the group. I don’t know how long that will be for, but that’s the latest.”
Newcastle and Howe have taken a firm stance over Isak as they look for a solution to the transfer saga, the type of which they’ve not seen since their Saudi owners came on board. The striker remains their record-signing, but his stock has risen to an extent that his price tag has more than doubled.
He broke club records last term in the final third and scored in their historic Carabao Cup triumph. Howe admits that he wants Isak to be part of the squad for their Premier League opener next weekend, but acknowledges that it appears extremely unlikely that will happen.
Howe said: “I’d want Alex to be playing today. I’d want him training tomorrow. We would love the player to be with us. Let me make that absolutely clear. There’s no part of me that doesn’t want that outcome, but I don’t see the current situation changing for Aston Villa.”
Newcastle’s efforts to try and source a replace Isak have fallen flat – which has been the story of their summer. They identified and bid for Benjamin Sesko but the RB Leipzig striker now looks set to join Manchester United. They’ve also missed out on the likes of Joao Pedro, who is now at Chelsea.
The club are now closing in on Yoane Wissa from Brentford. After having a bid rejected last month, the Magpies are now back in talks and said to be close to the £35m transfer of the DR Congo star.
Key in the deal is Wissa’s willingness to make the move to the north east as well as Brentford identifying Bournemouth’s Dango Ouattara as his replacement. Once Newcastle get a goalscorer into the building – Wissa scored 20 times last term – then there is likely to be movement on Isak’s future.
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