Howe says he ‘can’t involve’ Isak at Newcastle – is there a way back?

Eddie Howe says it is “clear” that he “can’t involve” Alexander Isak at Newcastle United as things stand.

Newcastle rejected a £110m bid from Liverpool last week after the striker wanted to explore his options.

Isak missed Newcastle’s pre-season tour of Asia with a “minor thigh injury”, but the 25-year-old went on to train alone at former club Real Sociedad.

Howe previously warned no player could expect to act “poorly and train with group as normal”.

Howe has not closed the door on Isak one day representing Newcastle again – but the head coach stressed on Friday that the situation “had to be right for that to happen”.

“We’ve had discussions and it’s clear at the moment that we can’t involve him with the group,” he said after Newcastle’s 2-2 draw in a friendly against Espanyol. “I don’t know how long that will be for, but that’s the latest.”

Howe confirmed Isak, who has no current fitness issues, had not been disciplined.

But the Sweden international has been instructed to train at a later time to the rest of his team-mates in Newcastle.

“I’d want Alex to be playing today,” Howe added just eight days before the season opener at Aston Villa. “I’d want him training tomorrow. We would love the player to be with us.

A lot can change in two and a half months.

Isak was among those players celebrating in a jubilant huddle as the Champions League anthem played out at St James’ 76 days ago.

Newcastle had just secured their place at Europe’s top table and it felt like the club had real momentum going into the summer.

However, this has proved a frustrating window for Newcastle, who have missed out on Benjamin Sesko, Hugo Ekitike, Joao Pedro and James Trafford.

Then there is the Isak situation.

It fell to William Osula to play up front on Friday and Anthony Gordon, who is a winger by trade, is set to follow suit against Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

Yet Isak’s absence, and a lack of signings, has not completely soured the mood on Tyneside.

Saturday’s friendly is a sell-out and, despite this game against Espanyol taking place less than 24 hours beforehand, there were still 30,782 fans present.

They already have an eye on what is to come.

Newcastle clearly require further reinforcements to cope with the rigours of Europe, but a couple of new arrivals did still impress on Friday night.

Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who joined on loan from Southampton, made his debut for the club while youngster Seung-soo Park played his first game at St James’ following his move from Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

One of Ramsdale’s first tasks of the night was to pick the ball out of the net after Edu Exposito put Espanyol in front with a long-range strike in the 17th minute.

But Newcastle responded.

Just a few minutes later, Lewis Miley’s scooped cross to the back post was met by the head of Matt Targett.

Espanyol had a chance to retake the lead after Targett brought down striker Roberto Fernandez inside the box just before half-time.

However, Ramsdale guessed right and kept out Espanyol captain Javier Puado’s spot-kick to loud cheers before Jacob Murphy put Newcastle in front after the break.

Ramsdale went on to make a fine save to deny former Blackburn Rovers winger Tyrhys Dolan late on.

Park, meanwhile, was lively down the left-hand side and the winger was applauded off the field after being taken off in the second half.

The South Korean may not have necessarily expected to be heavily involved with the first team so quickly, but Howe has had few options in a number of positions.

Take midfield, for instance.

Newcastle sold Sean Longstaff to Leeds United last month, while Joe Willock suffered a calf injury, which will keep the midfielder out for between four and six weeks.

Joelinton and Sandro Tonali were kept back for the visit of Atletico Madrid so it fell to Targett to fill in alongside captain Bruno Guimaraes and Miley.

Targett shifted back to his favoured position in the second half after youngster Alfie Harrison replaced Lewis Hall, who is continuing to build up his minutes after breaking a bone in his foot.

But this was a timely reminder that not only do Newcastle need a centre-back and at least one striker before the window shuts next month, but they also need another midfielder.

Otherwise there is the very real possibility that Howe will have to be creative and field players out of position over the course of the campaign.