No one can afford to buy Alexander Isak, says ex-Newcastle player John Anderson

Alexander Isak will remain a Newcastle player next season because nobody can afford to buy him.

That is the view of former Magpies defender John Anderson amid frenzied speculation over the Sweden international’s future on Tyneside following his absence from the club’s first pre-season friendly at Celtic on Saturday.

The 25-year-old striker hit the headlines once again last week when Premier League champions Liverpool indicated they would be prepared to offer £120million – around £30m shy of Newcastle’s hands-off valuation – for him should he become available.

However, Anderson told the PA news agency: “Once you’ve got good players and you’ve got very, very good players, they’re always going to be linked with other teams. That’s always been the nature of the game and that’s never, ever going to go away.

“I just don’t think anybody at this moment in time can afford Isak and that’s the truth of it.

“There’s a lot of speculation about whether he’s going to sign a new contract and have the club offered him a new contract – I don’t think the boy is in any hurry to sign a new contract because he’s got three years left on his present deal.

“Why would he be?”

Head coach Eddie Howe revealed after the 4-0 defeat at Celtic Park that Isak had been sent home from Glasgow after a pre-season training camp in Austria because he was never going to play any part in the game as he manages his return from a groin injury. Howe did not want him sitting in the stands as the rumours gathered pace, despite his club’s insistence that he is simply not for sale.

Anderson said: “It’s a high-profile game, the champions of Scotland against a side that’s qualified for the Champions League, but I think all the speculation would have been about Isak