‘No chance’ of Isak joining Newcastle pre-season tour, says Howe after narrow Arsenal defeat

Eddie Howe confirmed there is no possibility of Alexander Isak joining Newcastle United on their pre-season tour of Asia as the striker seeks a move away from the club.

Isak had been expected to travel with the Magpies to the Far East this week but instead stayed behind having informed Newcastle of his desire to explore opportunities to leave.

Newcastle were beaten 3-2 by Arsenal in Singapore on Sunday, despite new signing Anthony Elanga giving Howe’s side the early lead.

Though an entertaining affair saw Newcastle produce a much-improved performance from their 4-0 loss to Celtic last week, Howe again spoke afterwards of the club’s need to add more first-team signings ahead of a season in which they will play Champions League football for the second time in three seasons.

But when asked if there was any chance of Isak joining up with the team in South Korea for games with a K-League XI and with Tottenham, Howe said: “No. No chance.”

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He added: “It’s business as usual for the players. You don’t get a chance when you come on to these tours to think of anything other than training, the next game, the level is so high.

“Even in these games, we have to be very well prepared. We have to try and be at our best. So, naturally, I think we’re going to miss a player of our best quality and the group are going to feel that. There’s no denying that. I can’t sit here and claim that they won’t.

“But a very professional group of players and they’re doing brilliant as far as I can see in terms of managing the situation.”

Though Elanga arrived in a £55million move from Nottingham Forest, Newcastle have endured a frustrating time in the transfer window, missing out on several top targets, including the likes of Joao Pedro and Hugo Ekitike, who instead elected to join Chelsea and Liverpool respectively. Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford, a long-term target, is set to return to Manchester City, who have a buy-back clause on the England international.

Newcastle remain in negotiations for versatile Brentford forward Yoane Wissa, who has reportedly told the Bees he will refuse to play for the club if they do not sanction a move to Tyneside. In addition, Newcastle have been heavily linked with a move for RB Leipzig forward Benjamin Sesko, who is thought to be their top target in the event of an Isak departure.

With Isak away from the team, Newcastle’s central striking options are Will Osula and teenager Sean Neave.

Of the need to bring in reinforcements up front, Howe said: “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 transfer window, let’s see what we can do.”

There was positive news on defender Sven Botman. The centre-back came off after 25 minutes of playing time against Arsenal with an apparent groin issue. However, the injury does not appear to be serious.

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