Eddie Howe has admitted he does not know what is going to happen next after Liverpool had a bid for Alexander Isak turned down by Newcastle on Friday. The striker has made it clear he wants to leave this summer and is particularly keen on a move to Anfield.
Newcastle, meanwhile, are understood to have made an offer worth around €75m (£65.5m) for the RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko. On Saturday, they announced the signing of the goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale from Southampton on a season-long loan.
Liverpool have had a £110m bid for Isak rejected after their sporting director, Richard Hughes, made an enquiry about the Sweden international’s availability to Newcastle two weeks ago. Newcastle value Isak at £150m.
“I am very much removed from everything that is happening back home,” Howe said in Seoul, where Newcastle are due to play Tottenham on Sunday. “I was made aware there was a bid yesterday. That bid was turned down before I heard about it.
“There are people back in England dealing with the situation. I really don’t know what is going to happen next, but we still support Alex in every way. My wish is still that we see him in a Newcastle shirt again.”
Isak has not been part of the club’s pre-season tour of Asia, which Newcastle said was due to a minor thigh injury. However, the 25-year-old has been training at his former club Real Sociedad in Spain this week.
“I know where he is through the media, so it’s difficult for me to go into any detail,” Howe said. “The situation is far from ideal. It is quite complex.”
Isak, who has scored more than 20 Premier League goals the past two seasons, has three years left on his contract. There has been no progress on a new contract for him.
Newcastle are yet to line up a replacement for Isak. They are reported to have made a formal bid of €75m (£65.5m) plus €5m in add-ons to RB Leipzig for Sesko. That is said to match Leipzig’s valuation, but Manchester United are also targeting the forward.
“We are looking for the best players that we can get,” Howe said, refusing to comment on Sesko individually. “Whatever our target position is, we’re looking for the best. That’s the only way we’re going to get to where we want to go, which is to maximise, and it’s quality over quantity. It always has been.”
Newcastle’s opening offer for Yoane Wissa was rejected by Brentford last month, while they were beaten to the signing of Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitiké by Liverpool. “It’s been a challenging summer,” Howe said. “We’ve missed out on various targets for loads of different reasons. But we’re still very competitive and we’re still in there trying to bring very good players to the club and that won’t change until the window shuts.”
Newcastle have endured a difficult pre-season with defeats to Celtic (4-0), Arsenal (3-2) and the K-League All Stars (1-0). The Denmark Under-21 striker Will Osula, who scored twice last season, started all three matches in Isak’s absence.
After facing Tottenham in Seoul, Newcastle will play Espanyol and Atlético Madrid at St James’ Park before starting their Premier League campaign at Aston Villa on 16 August.
Ramsdale arrives, Wilson joins West Ham
Newcastle have secured the signature of Aaron Ramsdale on loan from Southampton until the end of the season. In a World Cup year, the England goalkeeper has opted for a move away from the Championship side and will play under his former manager Howe at St James’ Park.
“Working with the manager and his coaching staff again were a big draw for me,” Ramsdale said. “They’ve already had a great influence on my career and the gaffer turned me from a man into a professional footballer at Bournemouth. He really showed me the ropes, so the manager and his coaching staff were a huge selling point for me to come here.”
The former Newcastle striker Callum Wilson, meanwhile, has signed for West Ham on a 12-month contract, having been released at the end of last season. The 33-year-old scored 49 goals in 130 appearances for the Magpies before his contract expired this summer.
“I’m excited to be joining a massive football club like West Ham,” said Wilson. “A club that shares a similar passion to mine: hard work, dedication, and also I strive for success so I’m glad to be a part of it.
“There’s such talent within the squad. And obviously the gaffer [Graham Potter] has come in now, he’s making everybody a team – all working in the same direction to achieve the goal which is to be finishing as high as possible in the league.”
