Alexander Isak is to return to Newcastle on Saturday after flying off to Spain to train on his own amid Liverpool’s transfer interest.
Isak refused to join Newcastle‘s pre-season tour of Asia and instead decided to train with his personal fitness coach at the training ground of his former club Real Sociedad.
Eddie Howe said he was left to discover the location of his forward “through the media” after he had been left behind with what Newcastle had described as a “minor thigh injury.”
The 25-year-old is due to return to the UK on Saturday, as per Sky Sports’ Keith Downie, even though Howe and Co. are only due to return from their tour on Monday.
The Athletic‘s David Ornstein adds that Isak is “set to resume training with Newcastle,” though his stance to leave the club this summer remains.
It has been quite the dance between the two clubs since Newcastle rejected an offer in the region of £110 million, and Merseyside sources insisted an improved second bid was not to be forthcoming.
Liverpool were reported to have been reluctant to table an offer unless they received encouragement, so to walk away at the first sign of rejection feels simply part of the transfer dance.
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Newcastle‘s hard-line stance that Isak is not for sale has softened significantly on the caveat that a replacement is signed, and they will not want their target’s club to know they’re armed with more than £100 million.
As for their search for a replacement, it took a significant step forward on Saturday after a €80 million offer for Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko was tabled – it remains to be seen if it’s accepted.
The Slovenian forward has since been left out of his side’s squad to face Atalanta as a transfer beckons, either to Newcastle or Man United.
If they miss out on Sesko, the *Mail*‘s Craig Hope calimed earlier this week that “an alternative will have to be identified before an exit for Isak would be considered.”
It is a continually developing story and with Liverpool’s “interest in the player ongoing,” in the words of Ornstein, it would be a big surprise if the club did not come back to the table soon for Isak.