'Irrelevant': Eddie Howe tried to distance Newcastle United from summer saga as Liverpool clash looms
The summer's football headlines were dominated by the saga involving Newcastle United, Liverpool and one Alexander Isak.
The Swedish striker downed tools at St James' Park and went scorched earth as he forced through a record-breaking move to the Premier League champions.
Isak burnt every bridge he had at Newcastle to make his dream a reality and while that dream has turned into a nightmare, it's still hard to claim that Newcastle were the winners of the duel, as they ultimately lost one of their best players to a direct rival.
Newcastle haven't exactly set the Premier League alight this season without Isak up top, and the Reds, for all they're having a poor season by their standards, are still above Newcastle in the table.
Top marks to Eddie Howe for remaining civil when talking about Judas Isak
Naturally, Eddie Howe was asked about Isak on Friday during his press conference, even though the Swede will not be taking any part on Saturday. Wisely, Eddie Howe tried to draw a line under what went on in the summer, but did admit that Newcastle have found it difficult to move on.
“We've moved on and Liverpool have moved on. It's irrelevant what happened then.
“It's about what happens now and for us it's about making sure we become as strong as we can in every transfer window. We're not looking back, we're looking forward.
“It’s an ever-challenging thing. You lose a player like Alex… and let’s put this right, Liverpool paid the money they did because he’s an outstanding footballer. An unbelievable talent.
“We were privileged to have him for the years that we had him. We loved working with him. He was an outstanding player.
“When you take that player away from your team, it’s going to change the dynamics, that’s for sure. Then you have to try to find a way of, not replacing him, but finding a player or players who can still make the team really effective. We’re still in that moment and we’ve been trying to do that all season."
Alexander Isak can't haunt Newcastle on Saturday, but Hugo Ekitike sure can
Eddie Howe did brilliantly to be civil and polite about Isak because we all know that the relationship soured massively in the summer when Isak was doing his thing, trying to make his position at the club untenable.
At least Alexander Isak can't add to the Newcastle striker curse this season, where players linked with us in the summer who went elsewhere have gone on to score against us. It's obviously not the same situation, but it would be a similar feeling, albeit far worse.
They've still got Hugo Ekitike, though. He's already done it once this season and is more than capable of doing it again.
