Eddie Howe says that he only knows that Alexander Isak is in Spain through media reports, and admits that the situation is 'far from ideal'.
The Newcastle striker is currently using the training facilities at the former Real Sociedad club while trying to force a move to Liverpool. He is not here with the team in Zuid -Korea after reporting a dijing injury.
Liverpool saw an opening offer of £ 110 million rejected on Friday and later claimed that they were walking away from the deal. Sources close to the situation are stunned by the value of the bid, since it was £ 10 million less than what they discussed during informal conversations last month.
Newcastle sees no reason why Isak will not return to training with his teammates on Tyneside next week, but it seems that his decision to go to San Sebastián was not punished by his club.
“I know where he is, really, through the media,” Howe told Sport from here in Seoul Sport. 'From that perspective it is difficult for me to go into any form of detail. The situation is far from ideal and is quite complex. '
Of the rejected offer, Howe said: 'I was informed of an offer yesterday (Friday) and that bid was rejected, all before I even heard about it. People back in England have to deal with the situation. I don't know what happens next. From our perspective we still support Alex in every possible way and my wish is that we see him again in a shirt in Newcastle. '
There is some sympathy for Isak in Newcastle, with the feeling that he is badly advised. Sources have also expressed surprise and annoyance about Liverpool's behavior.
When asked if the Premier League champions had his star player restless, Howe said: “It's hard because you don't know what will happen from this point. We can only deal with reality. The reality is that we had a first offer from Liverpool and I believe that it was rejected. Let's see from this point what is happening.
'In terms of trying to make players upset and all things like that, from my perspective, we can only talk about our behavior. We try to do things in the right way. Signing players is always complex. We just try to do what we think is good. I can't talk about other clubs, that's not me to say. '