Liverpool given mystery Alexander Isak transfer update by Newcastle boss Eddie Howe

If Eddie Howe knows where Alexander Isak will be plying his trade after Monday’s transfer deadline, then he’s not letting on. The Newcastle boss was asked about his missing star striker after the Toon’s goalless draw at Leeds on Saturday evening.

And, amid mounting speculation that the Premier League champions, Liverpool, will finally follow up their rejected £110million offer earlier this month with a second bid, Toon chief Howe gave a brief update when asked - but gave absolutely nothing away.

He said: "I don't know, I'm not party to any talks going on. I've been preparing for this game and you can imagine that's demanding enough. So I will find out like everyone else."

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Isak remains steadfast in his desire to leave St James’ Park for Anfield, having cited “broken promises” behind his desire to leave.

This week, co-owner Jamie Reuben and a representative of Newcastle’s majority shareholders, Saudi Arabia's Private Investment Fund, met with Isak and his entourage in a bid to build bridges, as they seek to reintegrate him back into the fold. However, Isak made clear his desire is to depart and join Liverpool.

Howe is hopeful that the uncertainty over Isak’s future is edging closer to a resolution, with Newcastle having paid a club-record £65million to sign striker Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart on Saturday. They are also looking to land Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen before Monday’s 7pm deadline, but Wolves insist the Norwegian - who missed Saturday’s defeat to Everton - is going nowhere.

The Magpies are still chasing their first win of the season – they also drew 0-0 at Aston Villa on the opening weekend and lost 3-2 at home to Liverpool on Monday – after a disappointing stalemate at Elland Road.

But Howe, delighted by his players’ collective resolve, said: “All three performances – the big thing shining through it is the players are giving everything. Through all the media speculation we’ve been under, and the intensity of that, I think the players have stood up and really given their all, which is all I can ask for.

“We can play better, we can do better and we’re going to have to. But hopefully a centre forward can do that. The players have handed it really well because it would have been very easy for them to feel differently about the situation. But they’ve taken ownership of their own performances and they’ve viewed it absolutely brilliantly.

“I don’t think every squad would have been able to have done what we have done and blank it and carry on and make the team better for the experience. That’s the challenge. We have to be better for what’s happened, not succumb to it. That’s the big challenge ahead.”

Isak has been reported by Swedish media to have said his goodbyes to team-mates at the club’s training ground. But Howe added: “I’ve no knowledge of that. I can’t tell you it didn’t happen, but I can’t tell you it did.

“That’s the first I’ve heard of it. I’m pretty sure I would have heard.”

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