Newcastle United issue official response to Liverpool on Alexander Isak

Eddie Howe has insisted Newcastle United want Alexander Isak to “continue his journey” at St James’ Park.

In what has developed into the biggest transfer saga of the summer, the Swede remains on Tyneside while his teammates prepare for the new campaign in Singapore. The official club line is that Isak has been nursing a thigh injury, having trained alone last week.

Newcastle officials have repeated that line in recent days despite the truth about Isak’s true intentions emerging. The 25-year-old has expressed his desire to pursue a possible move after three years on Tyneside.

Selling Isak would signal a huge blow to the Magpies and the Saudi-backed project overall. He is Newcastle’s best player - valued at a staggering £100million - and offloading him to a Premier League rival would send a damaging message.

Eddie Howe coy on Alexander Isak

Speaking ahead of the pre-season clash with Arsenal, Howe insisted that whatever decision happens will be in Newcastle’s best interest. He said: “Conversations that happen between Alex and myself, and Alex and the club will stay private.

“We do share a really good relationship with him. He’s been magnificent for us. He’s very popular in the dressing room. We’d love him to continue his journey at Newcastle, and all I would say is whatever happens has to be right for Newcastle.

“We’re in a very strong position financially and we’re determined to be successful. We’re ambitious and we’ve got a great season ahead of us.”

Dan Burn puts onus back on Alexander Isak

Dan Burn admitted losing Isak would “upset” the dressing room while putting the dialogue back in the striker’s court. He told Sky Sports: “It’s a question for Alex to answer. He's obviously a big player for us, but we do have a lot of quality in the squad as well. Bringing Anthony (Elanga) in as well, which I think was a great signing.

“If we lost any player, it would upset our tight-knit group that’s been together for two, three years now. From our point of view, we just have to control what we can control in the moment.. We are looking forward to getting him back when he’s fit.”

Battle cry from Bruno Guimaraes

Guimaraes skilfully toed the party line by parroting the club’s stance on Isak being injured. He said yesterday: "What we know about Isak is he's injured and has not been training with us for five days. He stayed (in Newcastle) to make himself better.

“He's there with a small injury. Of course, he's a top player, we know everything going around him. We want to keep our best players. He's a top striker, his last season speaks for itself.

“A top player but, as far as I know, he stayed because of his injury. We know the situation behind him but it's not for me to speak about him, it's something that the club will take care of."

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