Eddie Howe has stood firm on his stance over Alexander Isak’s conduct after excluding the want-away striker from training and a family day with the Newcastle squad.
The striker, who wants to join Liverpool, has been told to report to the training ground later on Wednesday, after a special team-building lunch involving the players and their families has finished.
Howe told Mail Sport on Sunday night in Korea that Isak must earn the right to train with the group, in light of ‘acting poorly’.
Isak did not tell his manager he was flying to Spain last week to use the training facilities at his former club Real Sociedad. Before that, the AWOL Swede had ruled himself out of the club’s Far East tour when he walked out of training citing a thigh injury. A subsequent scan showed no damage.
And Howe has been good to his word by telling the 25-year-old he cannot yet train with the rest of the group, who reported back to their North Tyneside base on Wednesday morning.
‘You have to earn the right to train with us. We are Newcastle United,’ said Howe in Seoul. ‘The player has a responsibility here to be part of a team and part of a squad – you have to act in the right way. So that is also at play here.
Eddie Howe has excluded wantaway striker Alexander Isak from training and a family day at Newcastle
Isak did not tell his manager he was flying to Spain to use Real Sociedad’s training facilities
Howe said players have to ‘earn the right to train with us’ with Isak’s conduct called into question
‘We will make sure that any player does that to earn the right to train with the group. No player can expect to act poorly and train with the group as normal.’
Liverpool will return with an improved offer for Isak once Newcastle have found a replacement. They had a £110million bid rejected on Friday. However, with the Magpies set to miss out on RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko to Manchester United, Isak’s hopes of securing a move imminently have taken a hit.