Official reason why Alexander Isak and Joelinton miss Newcastle United v Celtic
The official reason why Alexander Isak and Joelinton miss Newcastle United’s friendly
Alexander Isak and Joelinton are absent from Newcastle United’s squad for their pre-season match against Celtic.
Isak was managing a groin issue at the end of last season, forcing him to withdraw from the Sweden squad last month. Still, he handed an extended break before linking up with the squad in Austria this week.
Meanwhile, Joelinton missed the final month of last season with a knee issue, though last weekend featured, and scored, in the 4-0 win over National League side Carlisle United in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Benton.
The official reason why Alexander Isak & Joelinton absent Celtic friendly
According to Newcastle, the reason for the pair’s absence is due to managing their minutes ahead of the visit to Asia.
Following the match at Parkhead, the Magpies travel to Singapore to face Arsenal on July 27 before travelling to South Korea for matches against a K-League XI on July 30 and Tottenham Hotspur on August 3.
Newcastle then end pre-season with a weekend double-header at St James’ Park against La Liga sides Espanyol and Atletico Madrid on August 8 and 9 respectively. The Premier League campaign gets underway a week later away to Aston Villa on Saturday, August 16.
Alexander Isak & Liverpool transfer speculation
Isak’s absence comes at the end of a week where the Swede’s future has been a hot topic.
Liverpool’s approach for Isak earlier this week was met with huge resistance by Newcastle, who insist the Swede is not for sale. The Athletic claims the Reds were willing to pay a British record £120million but the Magpies remain unmoved.
Newcastle were in talks with Eintracht Frankfurt for Hugo Ekitike and even tabled a club-record £69m bid. However, the North East club have since walked away from negotiations. Liverpool have entered the race as a result of being told Isak was unavailable.
Newcastle United confirmed starting XI vs Celtic
Newcastle United: Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schär, Sven Botman, Matt Targett, Bruno Guimaraes (c), Lewis Miley, Joe Willock, Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes, William Osula.
Substitutes: Martin Dubravka, John Ruddy, Jamaal Lascelles, Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon, Anthony Elanga, Emil Krafth, Harrison Ashby, Dan Burn, Alex Murphy, Joe White, Travis Hernes, Anthony Munda, Sean Neave.