Eddie Howe has admitted he will not have the final say over striker Alexander Isak’s future at Newcastle. The 25-year-old Sweden international is training by himself after taking no part in the club’s Sela Cup fixtures against Espanyol and Atlético Madrid, having missed the trip to Singapore and South Korea amid Liverpool’s interest in him.
Newcastle have rejected a £110m offer for Isak, who has three years remaining on his contract, from the Anfield club out of hand, but his situation remains shrouded in uncertainty as the Premier League opener at Aston Villa approaches. Asked after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat by Atlético at St James’ Park if he may have to let the player go, Howe said: “That’s a decision that I won’t make, that will be for other people to make.
“For me, I’m just trying to manage the situation and manage the team, most importantly manage the group of players that I’m working with day to day, that I love coaching and helping. We’re focusing on Aston Villa. Everything else, to a degree, from my perspective is not in my control, so it’s not my focus.”
Asked further about a report that Isak had been told he will not be sold this summer, Howe added: “That’s not something I’m aware of. Of course, there’s discussions going on all the time that I’m not party to. I have no knowledge of that.”
Newcastle, who signed Isak from Real Sociedad for £63m during the summer of 2022, have placed a £150m price tag on him in an effort to ward off potential suitors, but face a major task to persuade the player to continue his career at St James’ Park. Asked if he believed he could talk his star forward round, the head coach, Howe, said: “If it was that easy, I’d have done it yesterday.”
The Isak saga has added greater urgency to Newcastle’s transfer window mission, which has encountered repeated setbacks in recent weeks with Benjamin Sesko, Hugo Ekitiké, James Trafford and João Pedro having slipped through their fingers.
They were already looking to recruit another striker to replace the departed Callum Wilson, and Howe will hope Anthony Gordon does not add to his problems after limping off during Saturday’s friendly.
The 47-year-old said: “It’s an ankle problem. We initially maybe thought it was a muscle problem, but the good news is I think it was just a twist, so the initial feeling is he should be OK.”
In better news for Howe, Newcastle are understood to be closing in on a deal for Milan’s Germany international defender Malick Thiaw, although he said: “I’ve been preparing these two games the last two days, so I’m not updated on anything that’s happened.” The move would be a breakthrough for Howe in his search for a defender, having missed out on Dean Huijsen earlier in the transfer window, when he moved to Real Madrid from Bournemouth.
Another Newcastle target, Yoane Wissa, did not feature again for Brentford in their training ground friendly against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday following Friday night’s 2-2 draw at the Gtech Community Stadium against the Bundesliga club.