It is the biggest Premier League fixture of the weekend, and yet Eddie Howe spent very little of his pre-match press conference talking about football. Rather, this was a post-statement debrief.
The statements in question being those made by Alexander Isak and Newcastle United during a few hours on Tuesday evening when the earth moved beneath St James’ Park. The aftershocks were still being felt on Friday morning.
Howe wears a cap during summer sessions on the training ground. He has swapped that for a crash helmet when facing the media in recent weeks. Here again, he fronted up to questions on the future of his star player. A player who does not want to be at the club and who, by way on an accusatory yet opaque statement, left some believing he has fallen out with Howe and lost trust in his manager. That is not my understanding, but Isak’s incendiary words left his manager exposed.
It would be easy, then, for Howe to throw a grenade back in his direction – some of his predecessors would have certainly returned fire. We’d be picking shrapnel from our dictaphones were Steve Bruce still around.
Instead, Howe’s weaponry has been to open his arms. He wants Isak to return to the squad, be that today or on September 2 after the transfer window closes. It will not happen today, of course. The closest he got to talking about the Liverpool game during the opening exchanges of his press briefing was to confirm Isak would not be playing.
But should Isak stay, as is now extremely likely, Howe knows the chances of him reintegrating the Swede will be reduced greatly should he first have to apologise for taking aim at him in public. That is why events of Tuesday were not what he wanted or needed.
Eddie Howe knows reintegrating Alexander Isak is hard after his condemnatory statement
Howe has offered Isak an olive branch but admitted he was disappointed at the public drama
Isak has made it clear he wants to leave, with Liverpool interested, but Newcastle have failed in their pursuit of a replacement
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‘My emotion was one of disappointment in the respect of these things being made public,’ he said. ‘For me, all of these things, ideally, should be face to face, club on player. Yes, in public, it’s great for you guys, it’s great news, but it doesn’t reflect well on us or Alex.
‘For me, it’s a sad moment trying to deal with it all. The situation is regrettable. From the club’s perspective, they thought they had to act and reply. Needs must. The club has spoken, and justifiably so in that moment.’
The club’s response was to reveal that a sale had been possible, and that they had listened to Isak’s wishes.
‘We have been clear that the conditions of a sale this summer have not transpired,’ they said. ‘We do not foresee those conditions being met.’
Howe is both a pragmatist and an optimist – he will always look to extract something good from the reality of the hand he is dealt. It was a little surprising, then, when he admitted to Newcastle being in a ‘lose-lose’ situation. In that, Isak either leaves or stays against his will. In mitigation, the question was a slower, ambling delivery that perhaps caught him where a box should have been. His helmet offered no protection on this occasion.
‘I think it is a lose-lose situation to a degree for us, because I don’t think we can come out of this winning in any situation,’ he said. ‘That is why I have said all summer it is a difficult situation for the club to manage.’
He was soon hit with another but adjusted his feet just in time. Did Isak tell you he wanted to leave two weeks before the end of the season?
‘Me and Alex had conversations towards the end of the season,’ he said. ‘Yes, I am not going to sit here and deny that. I have always said that individual conversations are better off remaining private. But we had conversations at the end of the season.’
Howe has described this as a ‘lose-lose’ situation – either Isak leaves or stays against his will
Isak has to be ‘totally committed’ if he is to reintegrate at Newcastle, says Howe
That should not be misinterpreted as promises being made that he could leave. It is my understanding that never happened, but it is also the case that Newcastle were aware, entering the summer, of Isak’s want to go, which is why they pursued his replacement with the likes of Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko.
Those moves – indeed, any moves for a striker – have failed, and that leaves Isak as the only goalscorer at the club. Because of that, he is set to stay. Will that mean an end to all of this? Not a chance. The next chapter will be determining if he plays.
‘If Alex is to play for Newcastle again, he has to be totally committed,’ said Howe. ‘If you’re going to select a team to play, those players have to be committed in giving their best performance.
‘All the other stuff around it, things can change. I have had this so many times in my career, a player might not be in a great place one day, and a few days later they are there and ready to play. That is the beauty of human-beings, we can all change our emotions and feelings quite quickly. I hope I can work with him again and get him back to his very best.’
Best keep that crash helmet, Eddie.