"No chance" - Eddie Howe on transfers and Alexander Isak after 3-2 Arsenal defeat

Eddie Howe has many problems to address at Newcastle United during the pre-season, and whether he likes it or not, all the media can talk about is the speculation surrounding Alexander Isak’s future and how he will solve that particular issue.

Even after a spirited performance from his side against Arsenal in Singapore on Sunday, more questions are being asked about the one man absent from the squad than those in it.

Speaking to the media after the game, Howe issued a new update on Alexander Isak’s immediate future at the club, as well as the current state of transfer activity taking place on Tyneside.

“No chance” Isak joins squad in Asia

As the club has finished its participation in the Singapore Festival of Football, the next stop on the tour of Asia is Seoul, South Korea.

But the manager has now confirmed that Isak won’t reunite with the squad for this part of the pre-season campaign.

Simply commenting “No, no chance.” when asked about the possibility of the Swede

Today’s performance against a near full strength Arsenal defence showed we’re still very much capable of posing an attacking threat and scoring against a big team.

But to not have Isak involved in at least three of our five major pre-season games will no doubt mean he’s rusty come the start of the season in August.

And for Howe, very much a realist but often an optimist, to so bluntly state that Isak won’t be joining the team in South Korea could be a sign into how frosty the relationship has turned between the manager and his star player in a matter of days.

Howe on transfers - Need for signings stressed again

Howe has again talked up the need to overcome issues in the transfer market and add to a squad that’s seen just ONE major signing arrive all summer. 

“Of course (we need signings), we’re not deluded. We know that we need to bring players in, we’ve known that for a long time.”

“At the tail end of last season, we did all the work we wanted. It’s been a challenging transfer window, let’s see what we can do.”

Anthony Elanga, who opened the scoring at the Singapore National Stadium, remains the only senior signing made so far.

There’s been no update since yesterday on the current status of our moves for Benjamin Sesko and Yoane Wissa, though we recently enquired with RB Leipzig for the big Slovenian, whilst Wissa is locked in a struggle with the Brentford hierarchy as they remain committed to not selling their star man.