Alexander Isak's agent addresses transfer speculation after Celtic omission
Isak was left out of the squad for the Magpies pre-season friendly against Celtic with manager Eddie Howe admitting he wanted to remove him from 'scrutiny' due to the speculation he may leave the club.
Reports have previously said that Liverpool are willing to spend big money - in advance of £125m though perhaps closer to £150m - for Isak this summer as they look to strengthen under manager Arne Slot.
Howe is adamant that Isak is not for sale and is confident that he will start the season at St. James' Park. However, Isak's agent, Gonzalo Gaitan, has cast doubt on that stance.
Gaitan spoke to Saudi Arabian newspaper Arriyadiyah and revealed that Isak's camp are 'analysing all options'.
He said: 'We are indeed studying and analysing all options, and we may be close to finalising the next step for the player. Without revealing any details regarding whether Isak will transfer or stay with Newcastle.'
Following Newcastle's defeat to Celtic at the weekend Howe explained that his club want to 'treasure' Isak as one of their best players but admits he doesn't have 100% clarity on whether the striker will remain at the club.
'I chose to send him home. The last thing Alex wants if he is not playing is to be sat in the stand and under that scrutiny, then if he wasn't going to play today, we mutually agreed he shouldn't be here,' said Howe.
'It was my decision. He travelled back to Glasgow with us, but I decided to send him home due to the speculation around him. I've had discussions with him, but that's not abnormal.
'I respect a player's career and how short it is. Alex has been really good, he's trained really well and I realise there'll be noise around him. We have a few of those players who are irreplaceable.
'Your top players are so hard to find, so hard to recruit and so hard to develop. So when you have them, you need to treasure them. Of course we're desperate to keep him as part of our team.
'I think it's difficult for me to ever give 100 per cent clarity on any player, I'd never do that. All I can say is Alex is happy at Newcastle, he loves the players, the staff, the team.'
Isak has scored 62 goals in 109 appearances for Newcastle across all competitions.
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