Eddie Howe has confirmed that Alexander Isak will not be joining Newcastle United on the pre-season tour of Asia while admitting the club need to make new signings in the summer transfer window.
The striker was sent home ahead of last week’s 4-0 friendly defeat to Celtic amid speculation over his future and subsequently did not fly out with the squad to Singapore.
A minor thigh issue was initially cited as the reason for his absence, but it turned out that Isak had told the club he wished to explore his options this summer.
The Sweden international is a transfer target for Liverpool after they enquired about a potential £120m deal.
Following a 3-2 defeat to Arsenal in Singapore, Howe confirmed that Isak would not be coming on the South Korea leg of the tour.
It’s yet another blow in what has been a massively disappointing transfer window for Newcastle, who missed out on on a number of key targets, including Joao Pedro, Bryan Mbeumo, Hugo Ekitike and James Trafford. They have also struggled to make inroads in their pursuit of Brentford striker Yoane Wissa.
Eddie Howe admits need for Newcastle signings amid Alexander Isak saga
Asked if the Tyneside outfit need new attacking reinforcements, Howe answered: “Of course, we’re not deluded. We know that we need to bring players in, we’ve known that for a long time.
“At the tail end of last season, we did all the work we wanted. It’s been a challenging window, let’s see what we can do.”
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