It remains to be seen if Liverpool will return with an improved offer for Alexander Isak
Bruno Guimaraes, pictured right, is eager for the Alexander Isak transfer saga to be resolved as quickly as possible
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Midfield ace Bruno Guimaraes has acknowledged Newcastle United are "really missing" Alexander Isak, describing the saga surrounding the star striker's future as as a "tough situation".
Isak has been pushing to leave St James’ Park in the summer transfer window and is keen to join Premier League champions Liverpool. The Swedish international was the subject of a rejected £110million bid from the Reds earlier this month.
It remains to be seen if Liverpool will return with an improved offer for Isak ahead of the market closing on Monday. Isak was not involved in the Magpies' goalless draw at Aston Villa on the opening weekend of the season or their 3-2 home defeat to Liverpool last night.
Speaking after the Liverpool thriller, Guimaraes said: "I haven't had any contact with him [Isak]. We've been training in the mornings, and he trains at a different time, when no one from the team is around.
"As captain, and for us as players, it's a tough situation because we want to have the best players with us. But that's something we can't control - the club, the management, the owners are dealing with it, and I hope it gets sorted out in the best way."
Eddie Howe's men, who remain winless, return to action on Saturday when they visit newly-promoted Leeds United. Guimaraes added: "We're really missing our striker, a player who scored more than 20 goals in the Premier League last season, so of course he's someone we feel the absence of.
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"We hope to have our best player back, but unfortunately this is a situation that neither I nor any other player can control."
Howe has called for clarity over Isak’s future after a tricky start to the season. “I’ve not been party to talks on this for a long time now. I’ve been preparing the team and giving all my energy to the players that want to play for Newcastle," he said. "I think that is where my energy is best put at the moment.
“We want clarity, we want to move forward, we want the narrative to change because we’re in the start of the season now.
“We’re into the action and we’ve got to get results, and we’ve got to try to focus on what we can control. We’ve given two really, really good performances, we’ve ended up with one point. That’s tough for us to take, especially in this moment where you’re looking for positives to cling to. But we battle through and we now go on to Leeds.”