Liverpool's transfer target Alexander Isak has been named in Sweden's squad for the upcoming international matches, despite being sidelined by Newcastle United. The 25-year-old forward hasn't been involved in either of the Magpies' first two Premier League games and has been out of the picture at the North East club since early July.
Isak has found himself in the middle of a heated transfer drama after expressing his desire to leave St James' Park for Anfield. He was absent from Eddie Howe's Far East tour due to a muscle issue and has since been training at Real Sociedad's facilities to aid his recovery.
He has been left to train alone by Liverpool's Premier League rivals after they turned down a £110million offer earlier this summer.
Despite not featuring in the first team against Aston Villa or the Reds, manager Jon Dahl Tomasson has taken the audacious step of including the forward in the squad for their upcoming matches against Slovenia and Kosovo.
It is yet to be determined whether he will get any playing time over new Arsenal sensation, Viktor Gyokeres, who scored twice in the Gunners' 5-0 thrashing of Leeds United in their last match.
However, he will be sharing the dressing room with Newcastle teammates Emil Krafth and recent signing Anthony Elanga.
Prior to Liverpool's thrilling 3-2 triumph over the Magpies on Monday, reports emerged that Newcastle co-owner Jamie Reuben and representatives of their majority shareholders, Saudi Arabia's Private Investment Fund, met with Isak and his entourage in a bid to build bridges to reintegrate him into the squad.
Nevertheless, it was reported on Tuesday that their attempts to repair the relationship had fallen short and Isak remained determined to depart for the Premier League champions.
This week, Howe revealed: "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.
"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 play against Leeds."