As much as Eddie Howe would love to be able to call upon Isak, the Newcastle head coach said it was “clear at the moment that we can’t involve him in the group”.
Isak remains determined to leave Newcastle and join Liverpool.
But Newcastle have stood firm, rejecting a £110m bid from the champions earlier this month.
Should that come as a surprise?
After all, what sort of message would it send to sell Isak to Liverpool?
What precedent could it set for other Newcastle players given that Isak still has three years left on his contract?
How would Newcastle even go about finding a worthy replacement, particularly so late in the window?
But could Isak really be reintegrated one day?
This situation is a “complicated mix of employer/employee relations and the specificity of sport” in the words of Dan Chapman, the partner and head of employment and sports teams at Leathes Prior.
“Contractually Newcastle are likely to be well within their rights to insist that Isak trains away from the first team and are absolutely entitled to hold him to his contract and reject any advances from Liverpool,” the lawyer said.
“However, balanced against that is a compelling commercial reality which is that he is a very expensive player to be paying if not involved with the first team – and if they refuse to sell him this window and do not play him, his market value will only diminish.
“For that reason, we often see that the so-called player power will be perceived to win out in the end, though Newcastle will be trying to ensure that, if they are going to end up selling the player, they absolutely maximise the value they receive.
“They will also want Isak to recognise that if he did end up spending this season as no more than a fringe player, he would be harming his own value and, potentially, entering a World Cup year in less than ideal conditions.
“Though legally Newcastle hold most of the cards here, in practical terms, the player in a situation like this will often believe he also maintains a very strong hand, and how these situations finally play out resembles a very high stakes game of poker.”
