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Newcastle players Dan Burn and Bruno Guimaraes have insisted they are not allowing the Alexander Isak transfer saga to worry them, with both reiterating the stance that the forward is currently injured.
The Sweden star did not travel with the rest of the squad to Singapore on Thursday amid reports of his desire to leave the Magpies. Meanwhile, Liverpool continues to be linked with a move for Isak and enquired about his services last week before Hugo Ekitike’s arrival.
Isak is reportedly keen to join the Reds and challenge for the Premier League, leaving Newcastle in a sense of turmoil just three weeks ahead of the new season. The north-east side is said to be keen on Yoane Wissa and Benjamin Sesko as potential signings in a summer that has so far yielded just one new recruit in Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest.
While Isak’s future dominated the soccer agenda on Thursday, two senior squad members have said they are not getting caught up in the hysteria.
“Listen, everyone's entitled to their own opinion,” Dan Burn told the Daily Mail. “But I think we can just control what we can control.
“He's obviously a big player for us, but we do have a lot of quality in the squad as well. Bringing Anthony in as well, which I think was a great signing.
“Alex hasn’t trained with a thigh issue that's been ongoing since he’s been back that first few days,” he added, although reports earlier this week claimed Isak’s scan for a thigh injury had come back clean.
Meanwhile, club captain Guimaraes implied he expects to see Isak when the squad returns to England after pre-season matches against Arsenal, a K-League XI and Tottenham Hotspur.
“I’m really close to him,” said the Brazilian. “He’s a good guy. He’s been through some rough things at this moment.
“My focus is with the lads. Isak is something I cannot control.
“The club has control of it. I hope he’s going to be fit when we come back to Newcastle to prepare for the new season.
“They told us he was there in Newcastle because of his injury. Of course he’s a top player for us and he’s going to be a miss on this trip. We need him ready as soon as possible.”
It’s expected Isak would cost in the region of $203 million (£150M) if he were to leave Newcastle this summer, with Liverpool seemingly the only realistic Premier League destination for the attacker.
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