Eddie Howe throws gauntlet down to Alexander Isak as Newcastle United issue soft deadline….
Alexander Isak is not with the Magpies in the Far East but Eddie Howe wants him back soon – and made his feelings clear on the record, albeit through what looked like gritted teeth.
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has thrown the gauntlet down to Alexander Isak – and insists he wants to see him back in a black and white shirt soon.
Isak’s number 14 was not on display at an official event on Saturday night in Singapore as fans fumed over the striker’s absence. The merchandise stalls also did not use Isak’s shirt as fans splashed out on new shirts outside the National Stadium.
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But Howe urged for calm and suggested that Isak was getting the benefit of the doubt as far as his injury assessment was concerned.
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Howe, who adopted a serious tone on Isak, told Chronicle Live in Singapore: “He’s now in Newcastle getting that injury assessed and hopefully he’ll be back soon and playing in the black-and-white shirt.
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“That’s what we all want to see.”
If Isak does shake off what is being described as a minor groin injury and no bid from Liverpool arrives, he would be left with a couple of friendly games to get his fitness up.
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The August clashes against Espanyol and Atletico Madrid would be an option for Isak but Howe insisted that there was “no chance” he would join Newcastle in South Korea for games against a K-League XI and Tottenham Hotspur.
Was Howe imposing a soft deadline on Isak? There was hints of that in his press conference but Newcastle will need a decision sooner rather than later.
Howe wants Yoane Wissa from Brentford but Isak’s exit would lead to another centre-forward being required. Howe said that the homework had been done on targets.
But admitted it was turning into a struggle, he said: “At the tail end of last season, we did all the work we wanted. It’s been a challenging window, let’s see what we can do.”
Howe was at least happy with Newcastle’s better performance against Arsenal, saying: “We certainly needed to step up in performance after the Celtic game and we did, of course there are things to improve upon but overall, it was a difficult game and all credit to the players.”
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