Alexander Isak wants to leave Newcastle United.placeholder image
Alexander Isak wants to leave Newcastle United. | Getty Images
Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak’s first team exile goes on - as the Swede again trains alone.
Alexander Isak continues to be kept out in the cold at Newcastle United - but we’re yet to really understand whether it’s at his own request, or a move by head coach Eddie Howe.
For the second day in succession the Sweden international pounded the turf of the Magpies’ Benton training base with only a coach for company. This comes less than 24 hours after the player was cut off from a club function at the training ground, and made to train away from the rest of the United squad.
Isak has been subject to interest from Premier League champions Liverpool this summer, with the Reds seeing an initial bid, well short of the Magpies’ valuation of the player - thought to be in the region of £150million - rejected by Newcastle chiefs. He is understood to have made it clear to Newcastle that he wants to leave.
Alexander Isak trains alone - AGAIN
Newcastle’s first-team squad returned to training in the UK on Wednesday, following on from a pre-season trip to the Far East, in which Isak refused to go, citing a thigh injury. Isak was not part of the group, instead arriving at the training ground around 4pm, after the rest of the squad had left.
It was a similar situation on Thursday, as the player, alone, arrived to train, hours after the rest of the group had departed Benton.
Newcastle United take on Espanyol on Friday evening at St James’ Park, then Atletico Madrid less than 24 hours later. It remains to be seen whether Isak plays any part, but using common sense, even though the player is NOT currently injured, he will miss both.
Newcastle take on Aston Villa in the Premier League opener in just nine days.
Eddie Howe’s STRONG stance on Alexander Isak
Speaking after the club’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in Seoul, Howe took the stance that any player who steps out of line, including Isak, will face consequences.
He said: “You have to earn the right to train with us.
“We are Newcastle United. The player has a responsibility here to be part of a team and part of a squad - you have to act in the right way. So that is also at play here.
“We will make sure that any player does that to earn the right to train with the group. No player can expect to act poorly and train with the group as normal.”
What happens next in Alexander Isak transfer saga?
Isak wants to move to Liverpool. But Liverpool are yet to table another bid. They will, however, if Newcastle can find replacements for not only Isak, but also Callum Wilson.
The Wilson side of the bargain is much closer to being sorted than that of Isak, which has come as an unwanted, unwelcome distraction to failing transfer plans this summer. Yoane Wissa could well fill that void. The hole Isak leaves is less easy to cover, with Benjamin Sesko turning them down, and any wage demands in relation to Nicolas Jackson - as revealed by NewcastleWorld this morning - likely to cause serious issues.
There remains a possibility that if Newcastle do not secure a replacement, Isak remains, but at this stage, that still seems like an unlikely scenario to play out, with the wish of the player to move, and a clear divide between player and manager, staff and squad, as established upon his return to the UK this week.
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