Alexander Isak is set to play his first match in more than three months despite going on strike at Newcastle in a desperate bid to force through a move to Liverpool.
Isak had been refusing to play for his club and has made it clear to the Magpies that he wishes to secure a big-money, dream transfer to Anfield despite an initial £110million bid being rebuffed.
However, he looks set to play for Sweden having been selected for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Slovenia and Kosovo in early September.
Commenting on his potential return, Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson said: ‘It is very difficult to have a clear opinion about the situation. We do not know what has happened in the club.
‘We must be very careful about drawing hasty conclusions when we do not have the whole picture. He is smart enough, he is smarter than me I think.
‘Alex is a very professional player, a strong character and he has worked hard. He is a game changer. I have spoken to him several times, mentally he is strong. What we have said stays between us of course.’
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‘Can he play 90 minutes? Of course not. Not at all.’
The frontman has not played a single minute for Newcastle this season and has been training away from the first-team as he waits for a resolution to the saga.
Indeed, his last appearance came on May 25, at the end of the previous campaign, and he missed the entirety of pre-season as his stand-off with Newcastle escalated.
But despite his lack of game time, Sweden named him in their latest squad on Wednesday morning ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Slovenia and Kosovo.
Both fixtures will take place at the end of next week and it remains to be seen how much Isak, who has scored 16 goals in 52 international caps, will feature.
His Newcastle team-mates Emil Krafth and Anthony Elanga have also been selected by Sweden boss Jon Dahl Tomasson, as has new Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres.
Isak released an explosive social media statement last week, alleging the club had ‘broken promises’ and insisting that ‘the relationship can’t continue’.
However, Newcastle have remained steadfast over their stance that he is not for sale and in recent days, they renewed attempts to convince him to perform a U-turn.
Daily Mail Sport exclusively revealed that co-owner Jamie Reuben and a PIF delegation spoke to Isak at his home as part of their last-ditch pitch.
The club want the frontman to return to training and it is understood that a new contract would be part of discussions, should Isak choose to commit himself.
Magpies chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan was in attendance for the defeat by Liverpool on Monday night, but he was not part of the meeting. He is, however, said to have given his full backing to the effort to bring the Swede back into the squad.
Eddie Howe has largely been left in the dark, telling reporters: ‘I’m not party to the talks that have been happening, so I’ve got no idea where that stands.’
Earlier this week, Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes revealed he hasn’t spoken to the wantaway ace – but admitted he is ‘really missing’ him.
‘I haven’t had any contact with him,’ he told ESPN Brasil. ‘We’ve been training in the mornings, and he trains at a different time, when no one from the team is around.
‘As captain, and for us as players, it’s a tough situation because we want to have the best players with us. That’s something we can’t control; the club, the management, the owners are dealing with it, and I hope it gets sorted out in the best way.’
Guimaraes added: ‘We’re really missing our striker, a player who scored more than 20 goals in the Premier League last season, so of course he’s someone we feel the absence of. We hope to have our best player back.
‘But unfortunately, this is a situation that neither I nor any other player can control.’
