Not so much the striker himself, more the summer saga that surrounded him. As Howe said himself on Friday morning, Isak's controversial summer move to Liverpool was "the most talked about thing in world football in that moment".
And almost five months on, it's a move that hasn't really worked out for anyone as of yet.
Liverpool have endured a rotten season and made a mess of their defence of the Premier League title they won last season, Isak has had a nightmare start after his world record transfer - and is now sidelined with a broken leg, and the Magpies have undoubtedly - and unsurprisingly - felt the impact of not just losing their star striker, but the manner of his exit.
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Newcastle's search to replace Isak was hardly simple and routine. They did eventually manage to strengthen their forward line, of course, but Nick Woltemade is a very different striker to the player he replaced and Yoane Wissa didn't kick a ball for his first few months on Tyneside.
Howe admits Newcastle's effort to not so much replace Isak but adapt to life without him is an ongoing process.
‘It’s an ever-challenging thing," said Howe, reflecting on the summer.
"You lose a player like Alex… and let’s put this right, Liverpool paid the money they did because he’s an outstanding footballer. An unbelievable talent.
"We were privileged to have him for the years that we had him. We loved working with him. He was an outstanding player.
"When you take that player away from your team, it’s going to change the dynamics, that’s for sure. Then you have to try to find a way of, not replacing him, but finding a player or players who can still make the team really effective.
"We’re still in that moment and we’ve been trying to do that all season. I think the guys who have come in have done a very good job. But we’re still finding ways to get the best out of the new players that we’ve signed without training, with very minimal time to do any work with them.
"There’s been video analysis, talking to them, which is great, but it’s not the same as getting the work on the training pitch. They’ve done really well and they’re trying to give the team the best that they have and we are trying to adapt."
Speculation surrounding Isak was expected ahead of the summer but nobody could have predicted the saga it turned into, and it can't have been easy for his Newcastle teammates.
Howe said: “It was new for us. I don’t think we have been in that situation before. It was going on through pre-season so I’m not necessarily sure it brought us closer together.
"I don’t think it was that kind of moment, really. It was a distraction if I’m honest while we were trying to glue the squad together and trying to impose our culture and how we want to play.
"It was the most talked thing in world football in that moment so, ideally, we would not have that every summer.”
Had Howe and Newcastle had their way, Isak would have been replaced at St James' Park by Hugo Ekitike. That he ended up at Liverpool deepened summer frustrations and adds yet another fascinating strand to Saturday night's clash between the sides.
While Isak has struggled on Merseyside so far, Ekitike has been one of the few positives to emerge from a difficult campaign for Arne Slot's side.
Howe would have loved the 23-year-old to be wearing black and white this season.
He said: "[He is] A very, very good player. I think it is well known I have liked him for a number of years. I tried to sign him twice.
"He has got a bit of everything. He has great movement, can score with both feet, he's good in the air and dribbles with the ball really well.
"He is someone we are going to have to do really, really well against and I thought we did relatively well against him in the first game but, of course, he scored.
"He is a big talent."