Newcastle United 'send home' Alexander Isak amid Liverpool transfer speculation
Alexander Isak was left out of Newcastle United’s squad for the 4-0 defeat to Celtic.
Newcastle United were without Alexander Isak for their 4-0 pre-season friendly defeat to Scottish Premiership side Celtic.
Isak and Joelinton were left out of the squad due to Newcastle managing their minutes. Joelinton travelled with the team to Parkhead and watched on from the stands. Isak, however, was ‘sent home’ by head coach Eddie Howe.
It comes after an intense week of speculation where the Swede was subject to interest from Premier League champions Liverpool, though Howe says no formal approach was made.
Alexander Isak ‘sent home’ by Eddie Howe - but will travel to Asia
“Yeah, both players are fit, but we just felt they weren't ready to play,” Howe said.
“Everyone through pre-season goes through different challenges. Joe's coming back from a long injury, so we need to make sure when he's introduced he's ready. Alex has trained this week and he's fine, but we didn't want to take the risk with him today.”
When asked why the Brazilian travelled and Isak didn’t, Howe told NewcastleWorld: “Alex was with us all the way through Austria, but today, with all the speculation and things that are going on, I decided to send him home.”
Pressed further, Howe said: “It's purely the last thing Alex wants if he's not playing, is to be sat in the stand. Being under that scrutiny, I don't think that's fair to the player. So, if he wasn't going to play today, which we mutually agreed, he needs a little bit more training time, then it's best that he's not here.”
Newcastle head to Asia on Thursday, first facing Arsenal in Singapore before going up against the K-League All Stars and Tottenham Hotspur in South Korea.
When asked if Isak would be present on the tour, Howe replied: “Yes, absolutely, yes.”
Eddie Howe ‘confident’ Alexander Isak will stay at Newcastle United
Despite all the noise, Howe is confident Isak will remain a Newcastle player come the end of the summer.
“Yeah, I think it's difficult for me to give 100% clarity on any player,” said Howe. “I'd never sit here and do that because it's football and you never know what could happen.
“All I can say is that Alex is happy at Newcastle. He loves the players that he plays with, the staff, the team. I've never had any issue with him other than really enjoying seeing his talent and seeing him express himself. Certainly, I'm confident that he's going to be here at the start of the season.”
Howe added: “I have conversations with, I'd say, 100% of the players on their futures. I'm very, very communicative with them, whether that's at the end of the season, whether that's during pre-season. So, yes, I've had discussions with him but that's not abnormal. I respect a player's career and how short it is.
“All the time, I will be communicating my desires and my wishes to them and what I see and trying to help them. Alex has been really good. He's trained really well so far this season. So, I know there'll be lots of noise around it, and I can't really control that.
“But from inside, he's been really good. And is that desired right away through the club? Absolutely. Yes, absolutely. There's no one that feels any differently. From board to staff to players, we value his qualities and him as a person.”