It’s the saga that has dominated the summer so far, but what’s the latest on Alexander Isak’s future at Newcastle?

Newcastle have endured a hugely-frustrating summer, missing out on a host of transfer targets while having to cope without Isak.

But what’s the latest on Isak?

Could he still leave the club before the transfer deadline? After everything that’s gone on between him and Newcastle already this summer, could he still stay at St James’ Park?

If he leaves, who could replace the Sweden striker? And could he feature in Newcastle’s season opener on Saturday against Aston Villa?

Sky Sports News‘ Keith Downie answers all the key Isak questions…

What are the chances of Isak leaving Newcastle?

The longer this drags on, the more difficult it’s going to be for Liverpool to try and attempt to sign Alexander Isak, in terms of the amount of time required to get such a monumental signing over the line.

The word ever since Liverpool first made their informal approach was that Newcastle will not sell Isak unless they’ve got a top level replacement ready to come in.

They tried to do just that with Benjamin Sesko last week only for him to choose Manchester United. However I’d suggest there must come a point when the situation becomes untenable.

If Isak is true to what’s being reported in The Athletic and he refuses to ever play for Newcastle again, even after the window closes, then Newcastle must decided the best course of action with a depreciating asset.

Eddie Howe has already said the situation has had a negative effect on the rest of the squad, and the club will have to decide whether they want that lingering after the window has closed.

With only three weeks left of the window, centre-forward options are thin on the ground. They were thin on the ground before the window even opened as far as Newcastle were concerned, but Sesko was a player that they’d scouted for a long time. A big decision with potential season-defining ramifications has to be made.

Why is it increasingly unlikely for Isak to leave?

This is a big transfer involving eye-watering sums of money. It’s not the kind of deal that could be pushed through in the last couple of days of the transfer window. Remember, Newcastle are looking for two strikers because they’ve already lost Callum Wilson.

Of course, they’re in talks with Brentford over Yoane Wissa and they’re hoping to sign him in the coming days, but there’s a bit of a stalemate there. Even if they were to bring Wissa in, they would still need another one to allow Isak to leave.

Liverpool’s opening bid was £110m, which is also quite a distance from what Newcastle are looking for. I would suggest they’ll have to return with a sizeable increase for Newcastle to sit up and take notice.

Who is the potential Isak replacement?

I don’t see Nicolas Jackson as a viable alternative to Isak.

There was also some talk of Samu Aghehowa, the Porto striker, again he’s got a really high release clause and the noises I’m hearing is that again that one would be very unlikely at this stage for a number of reasons.

So it’s a pretty short shortlist and it feels like probably the best option for Newcastle at this stage would be to keep Isak and to try and get him into the right frame of mind to attack the season. But of course, they would need to completely pivot his frame of mind. They question they would need to ask is whether they see Isak changing his viewpoint once the window closes. The word is he won’t, but do they believe that?

Bridges have been burned with supporters so it’s going to be really interesting to see if Isak does stay, how that dynamic with not just Howe but also with the supporters plays out in the weeks and months ahead.

It feels like Newcastle need a fit and firing Isak given the lack of options, and Isak would need Newcastle, too. What’s it going to do for his career sat on the sidelines refusing to play? It’s not a good look for him as an individual, or for prospective employers. It can’t be good for his development as a player either.

Is Isak still exiled from the squad?

Yes he’s training on his own in the afternoon once the rest of the squad have left.

The rest of the squad have barely seen him since they returned from their tour of Asia.

What has his training been like? How fit is he?

He complained of a minor thigh injury and it was the reason he missed the trip to Singapore and Korea, but Howe confirmed on Friday he was fit and there is no injury.

How likely is he to hand in a transfer request?

It feels like he’s pretty much done that.

I’d suggest stressing he’ll never play for the club again is even worse than handing in a transfer request.

Despite what Howe said, is there a chance he could still feature vs Villa?

No. I don’t see any way he can travel and play Saturday.

Howe said if it was up to him he’d reintegrate him into the squad yesterday, which suggests the situation is out of his control.

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