Alexander Isak has informed Newcastle he wants to explore his options this transfer window.
There has not been an official or formal transfer request to date. There have been conversations about a new contract at Newcastle in the last few months. However at this stage nothing has been agreed.
Isak has three years left on his deal so Newcastle are in a strong position in terms of transfer value, and value him at £150m. They insist he’s not for sale.
Look at our picks of the best goals from Alexander Isak’s Premier League career so far with Newcastle
The Swedish striker was sent home by Newcastle manager Eddie Howe ahead of the 4-0 pre-season defeat to Celtic last weekend due to being affected by transfer speculation following an approach from Liverpool.
Isak then wasn’t part of the travelling party to Singapore today, with Newcastle saying he was left at home due to a minor thigh issue and a long-haul flight wouldn’t have helped his recovery.
But the speculation is a contributing factor to Isak being left behind in Newcastle.
Liverpool made an informal approach for Isak last week before signing Hugo Ekitike – and it’s believed they remain huge admirers of Isak.
What did Newcastle boss Howe say about Isak last week?
Eddie Howe said on Saturday that he’s ‘confident’ Isak will stay at Newcastle
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe speaking after Alexander Isak was sent home from the squad ahead of the 4-0 defeat to Celtic last Saturday:
“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.
“I’ve had discussions with him, but that’s not abnormal. I respect a player’s career and how short it is. Alex has been really good, he’s trained really well and I realise there’ll be noise around him.”
Sky Sports to show 215 live Premier League games from next season
From next season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.
And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.
