Celtic comfortably beat Newcastle United 4-0 at Parkhead at the weekend.
Brendan Rodgers’ starting line-up included Celtic first-team big hitters like Kasper Schmeichel, Callum McGregor, Arne Engels and Daizen Maeda.
Newcastle United arrived at Celtic Park with big names like former Hoops target Martin Dubravka, Jamaal Lascelles, Antony Gordon and £55m man Anthony Elanga.
However, Alexander Isak was missing from the Newcastle line-up and Alan Pardew has shared what he knows of the Sweden international’s exclusion from the squad.
Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images
As it turns out, Liverpool are interested in acquiring Alexander Isak from Newcastle United and it appears that Eddie Howe sent his star man home from Glasgow.
Pardew told talkSPORT, “Well, you know, reading between the lines, it looks very much like the player’s affected, I would suggest.
“So Eddie made a sensible move and just took it out the equation. Whether he was affected or not, whether we can speculate about that, which we can, whether it’s true or not, I’m not I’m not party to.
“But what I do know is, it was a wise move to take him out of the equation. Because when players want to move, they make it fundamentally clear in their actions, and it can cause a problem.
“Now, has Isak’s head been turned? I would suggest possibly yes. So, they got a battle on there and I think Eddie’s trying to play it down, but it won’t go away until Liverpool conduct their business.”
Newcastle were well off the pace at Celtic Park. Admittedly, this was the Premier League club’s first pre-season fixture of the summer, but with the talent they have at their disposal, the Hoops support would have expected a tougher game.
Celtic looked sharp, hungry and pressed the life out of Newcastle and even with Isak in the team, there is little chance the scoreline would have differed from how it finally finished at Parkhead.
The Hoops were great value for their 4-0 win and with a bumper crowd, Celtic are set for a decent payday after the Newcastle friendly.
With just weeks till the Scottish Premiership season kicks off, Brendan Rodgers has his Celtic team looking in good shape this summer.
