5 days ago
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Alexander Isak has reportedly been told he will not be granted permission to leave Newcastle United this summer and “will not be allowed to join Liverpool” - leaving him furious.
The future of the Swedish forward has dominated the transfer agenda over recent weeks, with Isak omitted from the Newcastle squad for its summer pre-season tour in Asia, and he has since been forced to train by himself since the group returned.
Eddie Howe admitted on Friday, after Isak was again not involved in the friendly against Espanyol, that he does not expect the player to be available to face Aston Villa next week when the Premier League resumes.
Meanwhile, the Telegraph now claims Newcastle’s Saudi Arabian owners have taken a defiant stance against the 25-year-old’s decision to try and engineer a move.
The outlet claims Isak has “refused to accept the decision with good grace”, leading to “acrimony and tension”.
The same report claims it’s “extremely unlikely” that Newcastle will allow its star man to leave even if it signs a replacement in the transfer market, while the situation is said to be testing Howe’s patience.
“We’ve had discussions and it’s clear at the moment we can’t have him involved with the group," the Newcastle boss said on Friday.
“I don’t know how long that will be for. It’s clear I can’t involve him with the team at the moment.
“He is training later than the rest of the squad. There have been discussions since the tour. I don’t think disciplinary action has happened.
“He is here, so of course he has a future at Newcastle. From our perspective, we would love to have him back with the team, but the situation has to be right for that to happen.”
Despite that, the Telegraph claims Newcastle plans to reintegrate the player into the first-team group and a new contract with a release clause will be negotiated in September when the transfer market closes.
It’s a remarkable update given Liverpool’s interest in the player and his clear desire to depart. The Reds last week saw a £110miliion ($148M) bid turned down for the ex-Real Sociedad man and had hoped Newcastle’s stance on not selling would thaw.
The news comes as Liverpool prepares to bid farewell to Darwin Nunez. The striker is set to join Al-Hilal after terms were agreed between the two clubs on Thursday.
With Federico Chiesa also expected to depart, that will leave Liverpool with just three senior attackers in Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo, although teenager Rio Ngumoha will play a bigger role at first-team level this season.
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