Newcastle transfer news: Alexander Isak future analysed amid frustrating summer for Toon boss Eddie Howe

Sky Sports News’ Keith Downie answers the key questions around Alexander Isak’s Newcastle future, the club’s frustrating summer transfer window so far and where they need to strengthen…

What’s happening with Alexander Isak after he sat out the friendly against Celtic?

The plan is for Isak to travel with the squad to Singapore and then on to South Korea on Thursday.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe says he will be on the trip, and I’d expect him to be there and would be very surprised if he wasn’t. If he wasn’t on the trip, that would cast further doubt over his future.

Isak was left out of Saturday’s defeat at Celtic to manage his minutes, but does Howe need to manage his minutes? I am pretty certain he was going to be left out against Celtic – like Joelinton was – but he was allowed to go home rather than sit in the stands.

Howe said that was to protect him from the speculation, and in many ways, that is good management. But it also suggests that Isak has been affected by what’s going on.

I would imagine talks are taking place behind the scenes to attempt to get his head into a good place as Newcastle continue their pre-season preparations.

With Liverpool agreeing a fee for Hugo Ekitike and Arsenal closing in on Viktor Gyokeres, what options would Isak have if he left Newcastle?

Liverpool would likely have been the move that appealed to Isak most. I don’t see him moving to Saudi Arabia at this point in his career, despite reports that Al Hilal are interested.

I would be hugely surprised if Liverpool came in for Isak on the back of signing Ekitike. I can’t see them signing both without selling other players themselves, so Ekitike’s Liverpool move suggests that Isak will stay at Newcastle.

I do think Liverpool’s informal approach for Isak has affected him a little bit.

He and the club are now going to have to find a way to make him feel content for the new season, whether that is agreeing a new contract, or a pay rise that brings him in line with what he would’ve earned at Liverpool. Or he just gets his head down and does what he does best.

If you’d asked me about Isak before Ektiike had gone to Liverpool, it felt to me like there was a potential Isak might have gone after what happened at Celtic. However, with Ekitike going to Liverpool, I feel Isak is likely to remain as a Newcastle player this season.

Is his £150m plus price tag a realistic valuation from Newcastle?

The word from Newcastle is that they would want at least £150m for Isak.

Newcastle feel that, as buyers, a Newcastle tax is added to players because other clubs wrongly assume they have endless pots of money to spend. But that couldn’t be further from the truth when they have been battling PSR issues as they have been over the past few years.

The £150m valuation is setting the bar high, but I think if a deal had happened – or was to happen – I would see it being more likely around the £130m mark, which would still be a Premier League record and absolutely smash Newcastle’s record sale.

They’re very aware they have a big-money player on their hands, but they want to enjoy the fruits of their labour with him. Howe and his staff have put in a lot of hard work with Isak over the last two or three years, and they want to enjoy that for at least another season.

Howe is desperate to keep hold of Isak, but so are the club’s owners, and Howe reaffirmed on the weekend that everyone is aligned on that at the club. They want Isak to remain for at least another season to spearhead their double-pronged attack on the Premier League and the Champions League this season.

Does the Isak situation suggest there are concerns about the direction Newcastle are going among their star players?

I don’t think there are concerns from players about the direction of the club. The scenes on the streets of Newcastle when they won the Carabao Cup made them realise Newcastle are going in the right direction. Can Newcastle get their quick enough with their PSR restrictions for the likes of Isak to realise their dreams? I am not so certain.

Isak is more likely to realise his dreams playing for a Liverpool or a Real Madrid, who regularly compete in Champions League finals, win league titles and crucially pay top dollar. He earns big money at Newcastle – he is their highest earner – but he is far off the highest earners in the Premier League. He knows he is one of the best players in the Premier League and feels his pay should be reflective of that.

The likes of Isak, Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes have been a bit frustrated over the years because they feel like they’ve had to take a lot of the load on without the club making new signings to help them. At the end of last season, Bruno appealed to the club to make signings this window. I think the players themselves will be frustrated that a clutch of new players haven’t arrived yet to help them.

You’ve got to hope that they’re getting assurances behind the scenes that the club are working hard to bring players in to help them with what is going to be an increased load this season.

What do the missed transfer targets say about the perception of the club from the outside?

Newcastle have missed out on a number of targets this summer, including Liam Delap, Matheus Cunha, Dean Huijsen, Bryan Mbeumo, Joao Pedro and Hugo Ekitike, making it a very frustrating summer for Howe.

I still think Newcastle have a battle on their hands when it comes to geography. I don’t think being based in the North East is that attractive to some players. When it comes to Newcastle being up against a London club, Newcastle tend to lose out.

Newcastle can’t pay the big wages that many of the top clubs can. Mbeumo is earning more at Man Utd than he would be at Newcastle.

They have been very unlucky this summer because there have been such a small group of players available, and it feels like all of the big teams are battling for their signatures. That’s why those players have been able to choose where they want to go.

I also think Newcastle have not been helped by not having a sporting director following the exit of Paul Mitchell. Howe has had to step up and perform that role next to his nephew, Andy Howe, in the recruitment department. Not having that help from above to close deals has cost Newcastle at times, because it is a lot to ask the likes of Eddie and Andy to do when they have their own roles to perform.

How frustrated is Howe by the departure of Mitchell as sporting director, and what were the reasons for this?

You could tell from what Howe said on Saturday that he is frustrated about Mitchell’s departure, especially with the timing as well.

He said he was on day two of his family holiday when his phone exploded. The bigger issue for Howe is that he’s not been replaced. The timing of just going into the transfer window has put a lot of pressure on Howe’s shoulders, and it has probably cost Newcastle in the transfer market.

It is no secret that Howe and Mitchell didn’t see eye to eye, so it did feel like something had to give there. But the timing going into the window has been really bad for Newcastle.

The fact they’ve not had a succession plan hasn’t gone down well with Howe and the Newcastle fans.

Will they regret allowing Callum Wilson to leave now?

That was Wilson’s decision. Newcastle did offer him a new deal on lower wages, and while Howe would have liked him to have stayed, I think they understand Wilson’s point of view.

I don’t think they’ll regret it because Wilson is 33 and has been carrying a lot of injuries. He wasn’t available a lot of last season, and something had to give there.

Newcastle have also lined up Wilson’s replacement in Brentford striker Yoane Wissa, whom I expect the club to complete a deal for in the next couple of days. Despite having a £25m bid turned down for the 28-year-old, the club will go back in with an improved £30m plus add-ons offer for the DR Congo international.

Howe said he ‘didn’t want to lose’ Sean Longstaff after his move to Leeds – was there pressure on Newcastle to sell him?

The sale of Longstaff is pure profit, as he is an academy graduate, and it makes sense with regard to that. He also wasn’t in the team toward the end of the season.

I can understand why he wanted to leave – and why it made sense for Newcastle to cash in on a player with just one year left on his deal. If he were to remain, they would have received nothing for him next summer, so financially it is the right decision, but it leaves Newcastle having to replace him again.

Newcastle have, over the last few years, by their own admission, not sold or traded well enough. But the sale of Longstaff shows they are learning how to do that in the framework of PSR. However, it leaves them with another problem, because he needs to be replaced.

Anthony Elanga has been signed – what other positions are Newcastle trying to sign?

Priority positions are still a right-sided centre-back and a striker, and I expect them to add both.

Wissa is set to be the striker brought in, which was a position that was needed even without a potential Isak departure. If he were to go, they would need two strikers.

Howe would like another goalkeeper, which is why there has been a protracted chase for Burnley shotstopper James Trafford. I feel like that priority has dropped down a little bit, and if there was one position they could perhaps leave until January or next summer, it would be goalkeeper.

They definitely needed a right winger and they got Elanga. I feel like Longstaff will need replacing, so it will be interesting to see if they go in for another midfielder, but I think central defence and striker are their absolute priorities right now.

This was supposed to be the summer where Newcastle had money to spend after PSR restrictions – how alarmed should supporters be with the summer so far?

They do have money to spend in this transfer window, but Anthony Elanga aside, they have basically been unable to spend it. That’s due to the market, the increased prices and competition for the small group of players I mentioned already.

They don’t want to spend their money on just anyone. Howe stresses time and time again that they don’t want to bring the wrong players in and waste money on signings that might not work out. He has his transfer targets and wants to stick to them. So while Ekitike wasn’t necessarily one of their No 1 targets, he was someone they had on their list for some time. How far are they down that list? We don’t know, but if Newcastle were to sign a few players now, I would suggest they wouldn’t be top of that list because we know they’ve missed out on a number already.

The positive for the supporters is that the money is still there and available. I would expect them to add at least a couple more players before the start of the season because the squad desperately needs help.

The club are yet to replace Darren Eales at CEO level – is a lack of leadership at the top an issue and having a knock-on impact on the team?

No, not directly. But indirectly, it is having an effect on the players. Had there been a new sporting director and a new CEO in place, new contract talks for Isak could potentially have started.

It feels like there is a bit of a vacuum at the club.

It is interesting to note that Newcastle appointed a new technical director on Monday to come in and help.

But having no sporting director in place is partly the reason why there has been a lack of signings and why contract talks have been on hold or have yet to start for certain players.