Eddie Howe “Confident” Isak Will Remain at Newcastle

There was no sign of Alexander Isak as Newcastle fell to a 4-0 defeat against Celtic in a pre-season runout, fuelling fresh questions over the striker’s future. Despite the absence and speculation, manager Eddie Howe spoke with assurance.

“I think it’s difficult for me to give 100% clarity on any player,” Howe admitted following the loss in Glasgow. “I’d never sit here and do that because it’s football and you never know what can happen.”

“But Alex is happy at Newcastle. He loves the players he plays with, the staff, the team and I’ve never had any issue with him.

“I’m confident he’s going to be here at the start of the season.”

Isak, who has delivered 54 Premier League goals since joining in August 2022, was left out of the squad for the match at Celtic Park. Joining him on the sidelines was midfielder Joelinton.

The Magpies’ afternoon turned sour when Joe Willock conceded a penalty on 28 minutes, and Arne Engels converted to put Celtic ahead. Just before the break, keeper Nick Pope misjudged a long ball, missing with a headed clearance attempt, opening the door for Johnny Kenny to tap into an empty net.

New signing Anthony Elanga, signed from Nottingham Forest for £55m earlier this month, came on at half-time but couldn’t shift the tide. Celtic extended their lead soon after the restart, with Yang Hyun-Jun sliding home from close range. Liam Scales capped it off, nodding in a powerful header with 15 minutes left.

Despite controlling possession for much of the second period, Newcastle couldn’t recover. They’ll now travel to Singapore to face Arsenal on Sunday, 27 July (12:30 BST).

Asked whether Isak would feature on that tour, Howe replied: “Yeah, absolutely. He’s part of our squad. At this moment in time, I expect him to come.”