Newcastle United bombshell as Alexander Isak misses pre-season flight amid Liverpool links
Alexander Isak remains in England as the rest of the Newcastle United squad travel to Asia.
Alexander Isak has not travelled to Singapore with his Newcastle United teammates for pre-season.
Eddie Howe’s men jet off to the Far East today ahead of their clash with Arsenal at Singapore’s national stadium on Sunday. A trip to South Korea follows ahead of a double-header at St James’ Park for the Sela Cup.
Newcastle got their pre-season preparations underway at the weekend with a dismal 4-0 defeat to Celtic. Isak was left out of the squad, with Howe admitting the decision was due to ongoing transfer speculation.
“It was my decision," Howe said post-match. "I decided to send him home due to the speculation around him. The last thing he wanted was to be sitting in the stand watching. That wasn’t fair to him. But I’m confident he will be a Newcastle player come the end of the window.”
Liverpool have been linked with a big-money move for the Swede despite beating Newcastle to Hugo Ekitike. Toon chiefs have made it crystal clear that they do not wish to sell Isak, who has three years remaining on his contract.
NewcastleWorld revealed on Tuesday that the 25-year-old is nursing a thigh injury. This came after pictures emerged on social media of Isak training alone.
Isak has undergone a scan and the strain is not thought to be serious, with Newcastle taking caution over their star asset. The bombshell news has now emerged that the striker has not travelled to Asia as part of the pre-season tour.
A bold decision will only fuel transfer speculation but, unless potential suitors stump up close to £150million, Isak is going nowhere. Howe is expected to give an update to reporters ahead of the Arsenal clash this weekend.