Many have feared Alexander Isak has kicked his last ball for Newcastle United but Eddie Howe won't give up on persuading the Sweden star to change his mind
Alexander Isak arrives
Alexander Isak has spoken about his situation(Image: PA)
Newcastle United will try again with Alexander Isak with the Sweden striker set to be asked to prepare for the clash at Elland Road next week.
Howe made it clear to Chronicle Live on Friday that PIF would not allow the Magpies to go into the first half of the new season without a senior striker meaning Isak's dream move to Liverpool will not be sanctioned unless a replacement arrives before the window slams shut.
After Newcastle were told of sky-high demands for Wolves' Jorgen Strand Larsen and Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson, it felt like Howe was running out of options at the end of last week.
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The Isak saga was parked as the preparations for the Liverpool game tonight were ramped up but United are braced for a second bid from the Reds before the close of play in the window.
Howe had not thrown the towel in on Isak completely yet and plans fresh discussions with the Sweden international once the Liverpool game is out the way.
Whether Isak will be open to rejoining the squad after his controversial stance on skipping the club's Far East tour and choosing to train alone in Spain last month remains to be seen.
The talk behind the scenes at St James' Park continues to be that Isak's only way of securing a move to Liverpool is for the Reds to submit an offer of around £150m.
Howe said ahead of the Liverpool game: "We are making decisions based on what we think is the best for Newcastle United.
"They are being strong on the valuations of players and on how a player leaves the football club, all of these things are important. They are important on this situation and also the future."
Isak released a strong post on Instagram last week making it clear that he wanted to leave Newcastle, when discussing if PIF would make their own statement, Howe said: "I don’t think they (PIF) are trying to make any overall big statement, but just reacting to this individual statement."