Howe: Newcastle desperate to keep in-demand Isak

Isak, who was the second-highest scorer in the Premier League last season, with only Mohamed Salah (29) netting more than the Swede's 23 goals, was not involved as Newcastle were hammered 4-0 by Celtic in a friendly.

The former Real Sociedad and Borussia Dortmund forward has been the subject of intense transfer speculation.

Liverpool reportedly made an initial approach to Newcastle, with a fee of up to £130m mooted, while there have also been rumours of interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia.

Howe, though, insisted that his star player is happy at Newcastle, who are "desperate" to keep hold of their prized asset.

"I chose to send him home," Howe told reporters in Glasgow, while also denying there had been any formal approach for Isak.

"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.

"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."

Asked if Isak would be a Newcastle player for the upcoming 2025-26 campaign, Howe said: "I think it's difficult for me to give 100% clarity on any player – it's football and you never know what can happen.

"All I can say is Alex is happy at Newcastle. He loves the players he plays with, the staff, the team.

"I've never had any issue with him and have just enjoyed seeing his talent and seeing him express himself, and I'm confident he’ll be here at the start of the season."

Newcastle face Arsenal in Singapore in their next pre-season outing, and Howe confirmed Isak is expected to be part of the touring party.

Liverpool, meanwhile, could well have already turned their focus away from Isak.