Keith Downie of Sky Sports News answers the most important questions about the Newcastle Future of Alexander Isak, the frustrating summer transfer window of the club so far and where they have to strengthen …
What happens to Alexander Isak after he had been the friendly against Celtic?
The plan is that Isak will travel to Singapore with the team on Thursday and then to South Korea.
Newcastle -Baas Eddie Howe says he will be on a journey, and I would expect him to be there and be very surprised if he wasn't. If he was not on the journey, that would continue to doubt his future.
Isak was omitted from Saturday's defeat in Celtic to manage his minutes, but does what have to manage his minutes? I am pretty sure that he would be omitted against Celtic – as Joelinton was – but he was allowed to go home instead of being in the stands.
Howe said that it was to protect him against speculation, and in many ways that is good management. But it also suggests that Isak has been struck by what is going on.
I would imagine that there are conversations behind the scenes to try to get his head in a good place while Newcastle continues their preparations for the season.
Agreed with Liverpool a fee for Hugo Ekitike and Arsenal who closes Viktor Gyokeres, what options would have Isak if he left Newcastle?
Liverpool would probably have been the move that ISAK appealed to the most. At the moment I don't see him moving to Saudi Arabia in his career, despite reports that Hilal is already interested.
I would be enormously surprised if Liverpool came in for Isak on the back of signing Ekitike. I cannot see them signing without selling other players themselves, so the Liverpool movement of Ekitike suggests that Isak will remain in Newcastle.
I think that Liverpool's informal approach for Isak has hit him a bit.
He and the club will now have to find a way to feel satisfied for the new season, whether it is a new contract, or a wage increase that brings him into line with what he would have earned in Liverpool. Or he just gets his head down and does what he does best.
If you had asked me for Isak before Echtiike went to Liverpool, it felt like there was a potential Isak, perhaps what happened at Celtic. Now that Ekitike is going to Liverpool, I think that Isak will probably remain as a Newcastle player this season.
Is his price tag of £ 150 million a realistic appreciation of Newcastle?
The word of Newcastle is that they want at least £ 150 million for Isak.
Newcastle believes that, if buyers, a Newcastle tax is added to players because other clubs wrongly assume that they have endless pots with money to spend. But that could not be further from the truth when they fought against PSR problems because they have been in recent years.
The £ 150 million appreciation is the bar high, but I think that if a deal had happened – or would happen – I would see that it would be more likely around £ 130 million, which would still be a Premier League record and would absolutely break the record sales of Newcastle.
They are very aware that they have a player with a big money in their hands, but they want to enjoy the fruits of their work with him. Howe and his employees have worked hard with Isak for the past two or three years, and they want to enjoy at least a different season.
Howe is desperate to hold Isak, but that also applies to the owners of the club, and Howe confirmed during the weekend that everyone is tailored to the club. They want Isak to remain for at least another season to spear their double attack on the Premier League and the Champions League this season.
Does the Isak situation mean that there are concerns about the direction that Newcastle is going among their star players?
I don't think there are worries of players in the direction of the club. Because of the scenes in the streets of Newcastle when they won the Carabao Cup, they realized that Newcastle was going in the right direction. Can Newcastle get quickly enough with their PSR restrictions for Isak to realize their dreams? I'm not that sure.
ISAK rather realizes that his dreams play for a Liverpool or a Real Madrid, which regularly participates in Champions League -final, wins competition titles and pays crucial top dollars. He earns a lot of money at Newcastle – he is their highest earner – but he is far from the highest earners in the Premier League. He knows that he is one of the best players in the Premier League and believes that his wages should reflect that.
The will of Isak, Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes have been a bit frustrated over the years because they feel that they had to take a lot of the load without the club made new signing sessions to help them. At the end of last season, Bruno appealed to the club to make this window. I think the players themselves will be frustrated that a link from new players has not yet arrived to help them.
You have to hope that they get guarantees behind the scenes that the club works hard to bring players to help them with what will be an increased charge this season.
What do the missed transfer goals say about the perception of the club from outside?
Newcastle missed a number of goals this summer, including Liam Delap, Matheus Cunha, Dean Huijsen, Bryan Mbeumo, Joao Pedro and Hugo Ekitike, making it a very frustrating summer for Howe.
I still think Newcastle has a fight when it comes to geography. I don't think it is located in the northeast, so attractive for some players. When it comes to Newcastle against a London club, Newcastle tends to lose.
Newcastle cannot pay the big wages that many of the top clubs can do. Mbeumo earns more at Man Utd than in Newcastle.
They have had a very bad luck this summer because such a small group of players have been available, and it feels like all the big teams are fighting for their signatures. That is why those players were able to choose where they want to go.
I also think Newcastle was not helped by not having a sports director after the exit of Paul Mitchell. Howe has had to play that role in addition to his cousin, Andy Howe, in the recruitment department. Not having that help from above to close deals has sometimes cost Newcastle, because it is a lot to ask, such as Eddie and Andy to do when they have their own roles to play.
How frustrated is Howe through the departure of Mitchell as sports director, and what were the reasons for this?
You could see what Howe Saturday said he was frustrated about the departure of Mitchell, especially with the timing.
He said he was on day two of his family vacation when his phone exploded. The bigger problem for Howe is that it has not been replaced. The timing of just going into the transfer window has put a lot of pressure on Howe's shoulders, and it probably cost Newcastle on the transfer market.
It is no secret that Howe and Mitchell didn't see it, so it felt like something had to give. But the timing that goes into the window was really bad for Newcastle.
The fact that they have not had a follow -up plan did not go well with Howe and the Newcastle fans.
Will they regret that Callum Wilson can leave now?
That was Wilson's decision. Newcastle offered him a new deal about lower wages, and although Howe would have liked to have stayed, I think they understand Wilson's position.
I don't think they'll regret it because Wilson is 33 and has become many injuries. He was not much available from last season, and something had to give there.
Newcastle has also prepared Wilson's replacement in Brentford Striker Yoane Wissa, for whom I expect the club to close a deal in the coming days. Despite the fact that an £ 25 million offer has been rejected for the 28-year-old, the club goes back with an improved £ 30 million plus add-ons for the DR Congo International.
How did he said that he did not want to lose 'Sean Longstaff' after his move to Leeds – was there busy on Newcastle to sell him?
The sale of Longstaff is pure profit because he graduated, and it makes sense to do that. He was also not in the team towards the end of the season.
I can understand why he wanted to leave – and why it made sense for Newcastle to cash in on a player with another year about his deal. If he were to stay, they would not have received anything for him next summer, so financially it is the right decision, but it will let Newcastle replace him again.
Newcastle has not sold or traded well enough in recent years due to their own admission. But the sale of Longstaff shows that they learn how to do that in the context of PSR. However, it leaves them another problem because it has to be replaced.
Anthony Elanga has been signed – What other positions try to sign Newcastle?
Priority positions are still a right-sided center-back and a striker, and I expect them to add both.
Wissa will be brought in the striker, which was a position needed, even without a potential Isak room. If he were going, they would need two strikers.
Howe would like another keeper, so there has been a long -term chase for Burnley Shotstopper James Trafford. I feel that this priority has fallen a bit, and if there was one position, they might leave until January or next summer, the goalkeeper would be.
They absolutely needed the right wing player and they got Elanga. I feel that Longstaff should be replaced, so it will be interesting to see if they are going to another midfielder, but I think central defense and striker are at the moment their absolute priorities.
This would be the summer where Newcastle had money to spend after PSR restrictions – how alerted supporters have to be at the summer so far?
They have money to spend in this transfer window, but Anthony Elanga aside, they really couldn't spend it. That is due to the market, the increased prices and competition for the small group of players I already mentioned.
They don't want to spend their money on anyone. What time and again, How and again they do not want to bring in the wrong players and waste money on signing sessions that may not work. He has his transfer goals and wants to stick to it. So although Ekitike was not necessarily one of their No. 1 goals, he was someone they had on their list for a while. How far are they on that list? We don't know, but if Newcastle would now sign a few players, I would like to imagine that they would not be at the top of that list because we know they have already missed a number.
The positive thing for the supporters is that the money is still there and is available. I would expect that they will add at least a few more players before the start of the season, because the team needs a lot of help.
The club still has to replace Darren Eales at CEO level -is a lack of leadership at the top a problem and does it have a knock -on impact on the team?
No, not immediately. But indirectly has the effect on the players. If there had been a new sports director and a new CEO, new contract discussions for ISAK could have started.
It feels like there is a bit of a vacuum in the club.
It is interesting to note that Newcastle has appointed a new technical director on Monday to come in and to help.
But having no sports director is partly the reason why there has been a lack of signing sessions and why contract interviews have been on hold or still have to start for certain players.