Alexander Isak transfer update issued amid Liverpool saga: 'You have to know the whole picture'

Sweden boss Jon Dahl Tomasson has warned people not too judge Alexander Isak too quickly and labelled the forward 'extremely professional'. The Newcastle star missed the club's opening match of the season against Aston Villa as he pushes for a move to Liverpool.

Isak has trained away from Newcastle's first team after missing the side's pre-season tour of Asia and appears to have indicated he will not feature for the club again. Eddie Howe has left the door open to that possibility despite his charge's stance.

Liverpool had a £110million bid quickly turned down earlier in the summer, and are ready to return for the player if offered encouragement from their Premier League rivals. Newcastle had earlier declared Isak not for sale and reports have suggested they would like to see two strikers arrive before even countenancing a deal.

Isak has come in for some criticism for his approach in attempting to force a move, and now his international manager Tomasson has spoken out in defence of his charge. The Sweden boss has already seen Viktor Gyokeres go on strike to facilitate a transfer this summer and has lent his support to Isak, who may now be fined.

Tomasson believes critics should not speak out before knowing the full situation surrounding Isak's decision.

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He told fotbollskanalen: "First of all: Alex is an extremely professional player. A fantastic character and personality. I have talked a lot with Alex during this period.

"Situations like this are quite complex. These are extremely complex environments that the players operate in. I'm sure it will work out in the end, but you have to know the whole picture before you draw conclusions. That's always a good tip.

"I don't think we know it (the whole picture). I don't know the whole picture either. It's quite normal because there's a lot of politics in a football club. But one thing is for sure: Alex is a great guy and very professional. We should all be very careful about drawing conclusions because we don't know the bigger picture."

Tomasson will hope to have Isak available for Sweden's next World Cup qualifying matches against Slovnia and Kosovo as the nation attempts to make the tournament in the United States. Isak's preparation thus far has not been ideal however.

He added: "There is time. He is a professional and I know he has trained. Of course he has not trained with a team and has not played matches. Let's wait and see. We will have a good talk, Alex and I, and hopefully he will be back in team training soon. Of course we have thought about it.

"I want to have my best players available and he is a fantastic player. But I can't see into the future. It's impossible."

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