The media did not waste time at the start of Eddie Howe’s pre-match interview, as everyone wants to know about Alexander Isak’s fate.
“I think it is a lose-lose situation to a degree for us because I don’t think we can come out of this winning in any situation.
“That is why I have said all summer, it is a difficult situation for the club to manage.
“We love Alex in the sense of what he has done for this football club since he has been here, what he has contributed, what he has given, how professional he’s been, and this has just been an unfortunate few months that looks like it is coming to an end.
“And it will come to an end pretty quickly, and then we can focus on the football again.”
The 25-year-old, Isak is still not back at St James’ Park. Since the start of pre-season, he has been training alone and not with his teammates. Isak made headlines on Tuesday after releasing a bombshell statement expressing his frustration over Newcastle rejecting Liverpool’s £110 million offer.
Rumor has it that Liverpool has now returned with a new offer of £130 million. However, Newcastle remain firm, and their proposed £150 million valuation is not being taken seriously.
In a pre-match interview, manager Howe said he still sees Isak playing for the club and emphasised that the fans continue to value him.
“The relationship between our fans and Isak can still be good. The fans will always react to the way a player performs. There are always two sides to a story. We will see where we are in a week’s time. I hope I can work with him again.”
Howe also spoke about his relationship with Isak and the last time they met. “I haven’t seen him this week. I saw him last week. When we meet, we speak as normal, there are no issues between us. I’m sure we’ll catch up at some stage and hopefully speak soon.”
