Alexander Isak has not been named in Newcastle United's squad for their pre-season tour of Asia amid continued transfer interest in the forward from Liverpool.
The club confirmed that his omission from the 10-day tour was due to a ‘minor thigh issue’ and he will remain in the UK as a precaution ahead of the new season starting next month.
Isak was also absent from Newcastle’s matchday squad for their pre-season clash with Celtic. The Magpies lost that game 4-0 and manager Eddie Howe admitted afterwards that he chose to send Isak home due to ongoing transfer speculation.
Liverpool have already enquired with the Magpies over the possibility of doing a deal for Isak but were rebuffed by the North East side who hope to keep the forward at the club.
Arne Slot’s side have since moved on to sign Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike in a deal potentially worth as much at £79m.
Newcastle have valued Isak at £150m though negotiations could see that price drop to around £130m which would still be a record breaking sale for the club - should it happen.
Another thing to factor in is Newcastle’s ongoing battle with Profit & Sustainability Rules. The club are in a stronger position than they have been over recent years yet selling Isak would be a huge boon for them should they want to fund expensive transfers of their own.
While explaining his reasoning for leaving Isak out of the squad for the Celtic defeat, Howe said: "It was my decision. He travelled to Glasgow with us but I decided to send him home due to the speculation around him.
"The last thing he wanted is to be sat in the stands watching, that wasn't fair to him. But I'm confident he will be a Newcastle player come the end of the window.
"We have a few of those players who are irreplaceable. Your top players are so hard to find, so hard to recruit and so hard to develop.
"So when you have them, you need to treasure them. Of course we're desperate to keep him as part of our team.”
Newcastle's pre-season tour squad in full
Goalkeepers: Odysseas Vlachodimos, Nick Pope, John Ruddy, Max Thompson, Mark Gillespie.
Defenders: Emil Krafth, Harrison Ashby, Sven Botman, Matt Targett, Kieran Trippier, Lewis Hall, Tino Livramento, Fabian Schar, Jamaal Lascelles, Dan Burn, Alex Murphy.
Midfielders: Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Lewis Miley, Sandro Tonali, Joe Willock, Anthony Munda, Travis Hernes, Alfie Harrison.
Forwards: Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy, William Osula, Anthony Elanga, Anthony Gordon, Sean Neave.
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