The Sweden international has been called up by his country but it is clear that he won't be able to complete 90 minutes
Newcastle United's Alexander Isak warming up before the match during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Birmingham City and Newcastle United at St Andrew's at Knighthead Park on February 08, 2025 in Birmingham, England.
(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
Alexander Isak goes into the final few days of the transfer window sweating on his move to Liverpool - with Newcastle United's first-team staff leaving the matter in the hands of PIF.
Head coach Eddie Howe has requested time to focus on working with the players that he does have at his disposal and those who want to play for the Magpies.
Newcastle have tried to move on from Isak by talking to Wolves about Jorgen Strand Larsen with discussions ongoing.
Isak has trained alone for the past month and last hooked up with team-mates in Austria for a training camp in early July. The striker would then miss the club's pre-season tour of the Far East leaving him woefully short on match fitness.
Having made pleas with the player to return to training, get involved with both friendly games and the start of the Premier League season, Howe has passed on the task of sorting Isak's future to the powers that be, hence visits to the player's house by PIF and director Jamie Reuben last week.
Chronicle Live understands that Newcastle were expecting Isak to go along with Sweden's call-up for World Cup qualifiers with Slovenia and Kosovo at the start of next month with Howe stating last week he would waste no energy on worrying whether he plays for his country or not with Jon Dahl Tomasson making checks on his fitness.
He said then: "I haven’t spoken to JDT personally. I don’t see how he’s going to help the situation. I don’t think it’s anything for Sweden to deal with. The international side is very separate.
"He’ll make his decision on what he needs to do, we’ll make our decisions based on what we need to do. I’m aware of the links (JDT ex Newcastle striker) I don’t think Sweden’s decisions can help our situation at all."
Today Tomasson said: "Alex is a very professional player, a strong character, and he has worked hard. He is a game changer.
"I have spoken to him several times; mentally, he is strong. What we have said stays between us, of course. Can he play 90 minutes? Of course not. Not at all.
"It is very difficult to have a clear opinion about the situation. We do not know what has happened in the club.
"We must be very careful about drawing hasty conclusions when we do not have the whole picture.
"He is smart enough, he is smarter than me I think."
The ex-Newcastle striker also said: "I am very happy that Alexander Isak wants to be in the squad, he is a huge player.
"The situation he is in is not perfect and he has not trained with the team. But he is a player who can decide matches and he wants to be part of our squad. The World Cup is important for Alexander Isak."
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