Liverpool head coach Arne Slot was questioned on Alexander Isak following his side’s 3-2 win over Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
An entertaining evening of football on Tyneside saw Liverpool go 2-0 ahead against the run of play and Anthony Gordon sent off before Newcastle pulled it back to 2-2 only to lose the game in the 110th minute.
16-year-old substitute Rio Ngumoha secured a dramatic win for Slot’s side in a match that was dominated by the transfer narrative surrounding the two clubs and a player not even involved in the game.
Newcastle striker Alexander Isak hasn’t trained with his teammates for over a month and hasn’t featured in a game since the back end of last season. The 25-year-old is effectively on strike in a bid to force through a move to Liverpool.
Given he scored in each of his two appearances against The Reds for Newcastle last season, Isak’s presence, or that of any established striker has been missed in the opening two games of the season.
Gordon’s suspension only reinforces Newcastle’s wish to keep hold of Isak while also signing a replacement for the already departed Callum Wilson.
Eddie Howe on Alexander Isak
Following the match, Howe was asked about reported talks between Newcastle chiefs, including a PIF delegation and co-owner Jamie Reuben, with Isak ahead of the match against Liverpool.
“Yeah, I'm not aware of that [meeting], but I've not been party to talks on this for a long time now,” he said.
“So I've been preparing the team, giving all my energy to the players who want to play for Newcastle. I think that's where my energy is best put at the moment.
“I'm not party to the talks that have been happening, so I've got no idea where that stands right now.”
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Arne Slot snubs Alexander Isak question
Although Slot mentioned Isak unprompted in his pre-match press conference, making a reference to the striker’s unavailability, he refrained from answering any questions on Liverpool’s prime transfer target heading into the final week of the summer window.
“This is not the place to talk about anything else,” he said when asked about Isak. “The story should be about Hugo Ekitike scoring another goal. He's scored three in three games."
Ekitike doubled Liverpool’s lead early in the second half to continue his positive start to his Liverpool career following his £69million arrival from Eintracht Frankfurt.
It added more frustration to Newcastle’s striker situation given the club have made three previous attempts to sign Ekitike that have all failed. Last month, Newcastle submitted a club record bid for the French forward before Liverpool swooped in to strike a deal.
Eddie Howe admits Hugo Ekitike interest
Ahead of the game, Howe was open in admitting his admiration of Ekitike, who he initially tried to sign during his first transfer window as Newcastle manager back in January 2022.
Howe said: "There's no doubt I really like Hugo and have done for a number of years. He's got really good qualities and he showed that in his first Premier League game. He had a really good debut against Bournemouth.
"He's got really good movement, intelligent, good in the air, scores goals, scores off both feet. Our job will be to keep him quiet. He is going to be a threat this year."
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