Newcastle latest transfer stance on Alexander Isak to Liverpool as new decision made

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version or go back to LFC Live.net.

Liverpool transfer target Alexander Isak(Image: Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)

Newcastle United are expected to tell Alexander Isak to prepare for their trip to Leeds United on Saturday, despite the forward's desire to leave and make the blockbuster move to Liverpool.

Eddie Howe made it clear in a press conference on Friday that Newcastle's owners Public Investment Fund (PIF) would not allow the club to go into the first half of the new season without a senior centre forward.

The Magpies are in the market for TWO strikers before next Monday's deadline as Isak is determined to depart and there is still a need to replace Callum Wilson, who left St James' Park at the end of his contract in June.



READ MORE:Five players could miss Liverpool vs Newcastle as Eddie Howe provides Alexander Isak updateREAD MORE:Marc Guehi to Liverpool transfer latest as Premier League rival hijacks £35m Crystal Palace deal

Chelsea outcast Nicolas Jackson and Jorgen Strand Larsen of Wolves emerged as two possible alternatives last week, but Newcastle have been a little put off by sky-high demands.

Isak could indeed still remain at Newcastle beyond the end of the transfer window and the Magpies are set to make another attempt to reintegrate the Sweden international back into the squad.

He hasn't trained for the rest of his teammates for more than a month now as he tries to force through a big-money move to Liverpool, but Chronicle Live has now reported that Newcastle are going to ask Isak to make himself available for the club's Premier League clash against Leeds this weekend.

The Isak saga has been put on hold until the end of the game between Newcastle and Liverpool tonight but the Magpies are braced for the Reds to stick in another bid for the ex-Borussia Dortmund man.

However, Howe has not thrown the towel in on keeping Isak and is planning new talks with the Swede once the game against Liverpool is out of the way.

The Newcastle head coach is hoping to get Isak back training and then available for their final game - a trip to Elland Road - before the September international break.

Alexander Isak of Newcastle United(Image: Getty Images)

Last Tuesday, the Swede was absent from the PFA Awards, where he was included in the Team of the Year.

Shortly after his inclusion, he turned to Instagram to drop a bombshell statement around his situation.

Isak, who wasn't involved in Newcastle's Premier League opener against Aston Villa last weekend, said that 'change is in the best interests of everyone and said his relationship with the club cannot go on.

In response to Isak's social media statement, Newcastle hit back at the former Borussia Dortmund man and revealed that "no commitment" has ever been made by a club official for him to leave this summer.

Speaking on Friday about Isak's future, Howe said: "These situations are from ideal as in talking press-wise and a lot of the attention has gone onto that rather than the team and our preparation.

"As soon as I leave here, I'm back preparing, taking training, delivering meetings, speaking to individual players, trying to get the group in the best frame of mind possible, so the job changes.

Just the outside perception is one that is totally different to normal.

"The club has to act in the best interests of Newcastle United.

We love Alex in the sense of what he's done for the football club since he's been here, what he's contributed, what he's given, how professional he's been.

It looks like it is coming to an end, or it will come to an end pretty quickly and then we can focus on the football again."

Nobody covers Liverpool Football Club in more detail than the ECHO.