Alexander Isak missing from Newcastle squad bound for Singapore
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Alexander Isak is nursing a thigh injury.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SINGAPORE – Newcastle United fans in Singapore will not get the chance to see the English Premier League side’s star striker Aleksandar Isak in action when they take on Arsenal at the National Stadium on July 27, after the Swede was left out of the squad who departed England on July 24.
Isak, 25, is nursing a thigh injury and will continue his rehabilitation in England while his teammates play pre-season games in Singapore, followed by South Korea.
The injury was also the reason he missed Newcastle’s first pre-season game – a 4-0 defeat by Scottish side Celtic on July 19 – although Magpies manager Eddie Howe admitted after the match that speculation surrounding an exit was also part of his consideration.
Premier League champions Liverpool have been strongly linked with a high-profile move for Isak for most of the summer transfer window, although talk has cooled somewhat after the Reds confirmed the signing of Eintracht Frankfurt’s French striker Hugo Ekitike for £69 million (S$119 million) on July 23.
Any deal for Isak, who has scored 54 goals in 86 Premier League games for Newcastle in the last three seasons, would likely see a figure upwards of £120m.
Howe had previously said he expected Isak to join the team for their tour in East Asia.
Aside from Isak, the only senior player missing from Newcastle’s squad bound for Singapore is backup goalkeeper Martin Dubravka. England left back Lewis Hall, who suffered an ankle injury in February that cut his season short, has been included, as has winger Anthony Elanga, a £55m recruit from Nottingham Forest,
After playing Arsenal, Newcastle are will play a K-League selection side at the Suwon World Cup Stadium on July 30, and then Tottenham Hotspur on Aug 3 at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.
