NEWCASTLE, England (AP) — Alexander Isak remains unavailable for selection for Newcastle heading into the start of the Premier League season amid ongoing uncertainty over the Sweden striker’s future at the club.
Isak was the subject of a bid from Liverpool during the offseason and has been training away from the Newcastle squad, having indicated he wanted to explore his options.
“Alex’s situation has been unchanged for a while,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said Friday, a day before the team’s league opener at Aston Villa, “and that will continue to be the case.”
Howe wouldn’t discuss whether he has asked Isak to play against Villa, saying those conversations needed to stay private.
He did say, however, that the offseason has been challenging given the absence of the team’s star striker.
“Certainly early preseason, I haven’t shied away from saying that was a difficult period for the players, for us, because any change is always difficult to react to,” Howe said. “You can see that this summer in our early preseason performances.
“But I think the players are really strong mentally, they are a really tight group, they have really come together in the latter stages of preseason.”
Howe said his players know the situation is “not ideal” but “they realize, without Alex, everyone is going to have to step up and give more.”
Isak, who joined Newcastle in 2022 from Real Sociedad, netted 23 goals in the Premier League last season, placing him second in the scoring chart behind Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
Newcastle is close to signing midfielder Jacob Ramsey from Villa but Howe said the player wouldn’t be involved in the game on Saturday.
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