Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has expressed confidence that striker Alexander Isak will still be a Magpies player at the start of the 2025-26 season, despite ongoing transfer rumours.
Howe left the Sweden international out of Newcastle’s 4-0 friendly defeat to Celtic on Saturday, citing the swirling speculation as the reason.
Earlier this week, British media reported that Premier League champions Liverpool are interested in signing the 25-year-old, who has three years remaining on his Newcastle contract.
Isak scored 23 Premier League goals last season, second only to Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, who won the Golden Boot with 29. Since joining Newcastle from Real Sociedad in 2022, Isak has scored 62 goals in 109 appearances across all competitions. He has also been capped 52 times for Sweden.
“It was my decision,” Howe said after the match. “He travelled back to Glasgow with us but I decided to send him home because of the speculation surrounding him.
“The last thing he wanted was to be sat in the stand watching, which wouldn’t have been fair to him. But I’m confident he will still be a Newcastle player by the end of the transfer window.
“It’s difficult to be 100% certain about any player. Alex is happy at Newcastle, he loves the players, the staff and the team. I’m confident he’ll be here at the start of the season.
“Yes, I’ve had discussions with him, but that’s not unusual. I respect a player’s career and how short it is. Alex has been really good, he’s trained well and I understand there will always be noise around him.”
Newcastle, who secured Champions League football after finishing fifth in the Premier League last season, will next face Arsenal in a friendly in Singapore next Sunday.