While the pair had held discussions at the start of the summer, Howe was initially confident that Isak could be persuaded to remain on Tyneside no matter who came in for him during the transfer window.
However, things began to change when Isak was withdrawn from the team that played in [Newcastle’s](https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/newcastleunited/) opening pre-season friendly at Celtic. The situation then changed dramatically when Isak was not part of the squad that travelled to the Far East for pre-season games in Singapore and South Korea, and became even more fraught when Isak made the decision to head to Spain to train alone at the facilities of his former club, Real Sociedad.
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The Swede then made himself unavailable for selection for Newcastle’s opening game of the Premier League season against Aston Villa, by which point Howe’s relationship with the 25-year-old had completely broken down, to the point where they were not even holding face-to-face conversations.
“The moment he \[Isak\] went on strike, our relationship did change,” admitted Howe. “I think that was probably a turning point in our relationship. Communication became difficult from that point onwards, although I won’t go into any more detail than that.
“Was I shocked that he went on strike? I don’t know if shocked is the right word because I think I’ve seen lots of these similar situations before. It was just about dealing with the situation in the best way I could for Newcastle.”
The longer the summer went on, the likelier it became that Isak would eventually head to Anfield. However, it was only on the eve of deadline day that Newcastle accepted the British-record offer of £125m that would eventually result in Isak moving to Anfield.
In the final week of August, there were moments where it looked as though the striking striker would have to be reintegrated into the Newcastle squad. Was that something Howe was really willing to contemplate?
“I didn’t look at it that way,” he said. “I didn’t know which way things were going to fall right until the end.
“All I’ll ever do is adjust to what the future now looks like, and that future now is without Alex. But we were able to bring two strikers in that we feel can really help us. Now, my focus is purely on them.”
Another of Howe’s key concerns was to protect the players within the Newcastle squad and attempt to ensure the spirit and unity that had played such a pivotal role in the club’s recent successes remained intact.
There were points during the summer where the Isak saga was having a negative impact on the dressing room, but any concerns Howe held about the situation affecting the season were dispelled by his side’s opening-day performance at Villa Park.
“I can’t speak for everybody in the dressing room,” said the Magpies boss. “Obviously, Alex was closer to some players than others, I think that’s natural. But I think the players were very good at focusing on what they could directly control.
“They knew that was the football, and I think as soon as the season started, they went into a different mindset really. You could see that from the Aston Villa performance, which was very strong and very committed.
“You can’t play like that if you have any doubts or outside noise is affecting the group internally. From that moment, when the season started, I think they went into a different place.”
Attention now switches to the two forwards that arrived in the final week of the window as Isak was leaving.
Yoane Wissa’s knee injury, sustained on international duty with DR Congo, is a major concern, while Nick Woltemade’s lack of Premier League experience is also a worry.
Howe insists he is delighted with Newcastle’s transfer activity, but is also adamant it would be unfair to regard either Wissa or Woltemade as a replacement for Isak. Ultimately, it needed the purchase of two players to give Newcastle any chance of plugging the gap created by the departure of last season’s leading scorer.
“I think it would have been impossible to have replaced Alex like-for-like,” said Howe. “There's no other player like Alex, he was totally unique. He had his qualities and I think it's important we don't compare whoever we bring in to Alex, because I think that's very difficult to do.
“I think each player that comes in is an individual in their own right and has their own strengths and weaknesses. There will be a process where we have to mould ourselves to them, and vice-versa. Both players have standout qualities.
“Yoane is a proven Premier League goalscorer, a very good finisher, he's a real threat in the box. He's another hard worker, but a good player technically to link the play.
“Nick is very, very creative. Hopefully we'll see that around the box. His ability to link play and find passes will really help us in that final third. They're different players, I don't really think you can compare any of the three strikers we have discussed, but hopefully individually, the two players we have will perform well for the team.”