Newcastle manager Eddie Howe says the club need ‘clarity’ on the future of striker Alexander Isak going into the final week of the transfer window.
The Sweden forward has not featured for Newcastle so far this season after the club turned down a bid from Premier League champions Liverpool.
The Reds beat the Magpies 3-2 on Monday night and Howe could do with his star player back – or sold – as soon as possible.
Howe said: “I’ve not been party to talks on this for a long time now. I’ve been preparing the team and giving all my energy to the players that want to play for Newcastle. I think that is where my energy is best put at the moment.
“We want clarity, we want to move forward, we want the narrative to change because we’re in the start of the season now.
“We’re into the action and we’ve got to get results, and we’ve got to try to focus on what we can control. We’ve given two really, really good performances, we’ve ended up with one point.
“That’s tough for us to take, especially in this moment where you’re looking for positives to cling to.
“But we battle through and we now go on to Leeds.”
To add to Howe’s problems, forward Anthony Gordon was sent off after a VAR review of his untidy challenge on Virgil van Dijk, although Howe had sympathy with the man he had asked to deputise for Isak.
He said: “It’s an unfortunate one, I think he’s slightly unlucky with it. Everyone has told me it’s a clear red; my first opinion was slightly different, but maybe I’ve got the wrong angle, so I’ve got sympathy for him.”
Asked if the three-match suspension Gordon now faces makes Isak’s departure even less likely, Howe said: “Yes, of course. If you do the maths, we’re running out of options in that position.”
