Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has reiterated his belief that Alexander Isak can still play for the club again as he insisted the saga surrounding a possible transfer to Liverpool is approaching its end.
Isak has refused to play for Newcastle this summer, accusing the Magpies of broken promises in a fiery statement which made his desire to leave abundantly clear. Newcastle soon fired back with a stern response effectively dismissing the striker’s concerns.
“My preference with these things is that it doesn’t happen publicly, because I think everything is better dealt with behind closed doors, but needs must in this situation and the club has spoken, probably justifiably so in that moment,” Howe told Friday’s press conference when asked for his response.
The Premier League’s fixture generator offered up an fascinating addition to this saga in the form of a meeting between Newcastle and Liverpool on Monday evening—a game for which Isak will remain unavailable.
“He’s contracted to us, he’s our player. My wish is that he would be playing on Monday night with us, but he won’t be, and that’s regrettable at this moment, but...100%, I want to see him back in a Newcastle shirt,” Howe continued.
Isak’s statement is only believed to have harmed his chances of leaving Newcastle this summer, with club officials reportedly adamant they will not concede. Howe, who insisted he did not know whether the striker had been punished for his statement, was confident the entire saga is approaching a conclusion.
“I’m not a fortune teller unfortunately. I’ve got no way of knowing what will happen in the next few days, in terms of trying to get some finality on the situation. I’m in the same boat as everybody else,” he said.
“It looks like it’s coming to an end—well, it will come to an end pretty quickly—and then we can focus on the football again.”
Reports suggested the Newcastle squad were divided in their response to Isak’s statement, with many claimed to be frustrated by the Sweden international’s actions, but Howe believes his squad would welcome Isak back with open arms.
“I think there’s no doubt how the players will feel,” the Magpies boss stressed. “I think they’ll feel the same way I do.
“Alex is an outstanding player and, I have to say, a very, very good person. Good character, he’s a good lad, wants to succeed in his career. This has been a really difficult situation for him, for all the players that we have to see us without him. I think they’ve handled it really well. But if Alex decided to come back and play for us, the player would welcome him back.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Eddie Howe: Alexander Isak Transfer Saga ‘Coming to an End Pretty Quickly’.
