‘Ridiculous’ - Alan Shearer slams Newcastle United for Alexander Isak statement
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Newcastle United transfer news: Liverpool remain interested in signing Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak this summer.
Alan Shearer has slammed Newcastle United for their response to the news that Alexander Isak hadn’t travelled with the team for their trip to Asia. The Magpies revealed their 29-man squad for their trip to Singapore and South Korea on Thursday morning, with Isak’s absence a notable omission.
The Swedish international has been heavily-linked with a move to Liverpool and is reportedly interested in exploring his options this summer. The Reds have already spent lavishly in the transfer market but are expected to continue that spending, particularly if they are able to sell Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz.
Isak is at the top of their wishlist - although Newcastle United maintain that he is not for sale this summer. All the noise surrounding Isak and his future has diverted attention away from the fact that Eddie Howe and his side face three big friendly games in Asia and the fact that the squad still needs refreshed in a number of areas before the window closes on Monday 1 September.
Alan Shearer slams Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak statement
Newcastle United announced their 29-man travelling squad to Asia on Thursday morning with a post on social media and on their website. They subsequently followed up that announcement by revealing that Isak wasn’t travelling due to a minor thigh injury.
The 25-year-old didn’t feature against Celtic last weekend either as his minutes during pre-season are managed. A picture of him training away from the group on Monday soon followed with NewcastleWorld revealing that was because of a thigh injury.
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However, as transfer speculation grew, so did skepticism of the reasons for Isak’s omission from Howe’s squad. Shearer was one of those to question the call, describing the statement that the Magpies put out on Thursday morning as ‘ridiculous’: “It's ridiculous what Newcastle put out [on Thursday] morning to say he wasn't on the trip because of a slight thigh injury," said Shearer.
“If they thought people wouldn't see through that... it was disappointing.
“They should have just told the truth straight away. I understand it's a very difficult situation for them, but it is what it is.
“Eddie Howe has to use all his persuasive powers to do what he can and try to make him stay at least one more year. If that can't happen then it is what it is.
“You have to get the very best deal for the football club and if someone is prepared to pay north of £150m, and if he really, really wants to go, you can't step in his way.”
Whilst Isak remains on Tyneside, his Magpies teammates are currently preparing to face Arsenal in Singapore. Newcastle take on Mikel Arteta’s side at the Singapore National Stadium on Sunday (12:30pm kick-off BST).
They will then face a K-League XI in South Korea on Wednesday (12pm kick-off BST) before facing Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur in Seoul on Sunday 3 August. That match will also kick-off at midday (BST). All three games are available to watch online via NUFC TV.