Isak to Miss Start of Premier League Season for Newcastle Amid Uncertainty Over Future

Nice' Swedish forward #21 Isak Jansson warms up prior to the UEFA Champions League 3rd round first leg football match between OGC Nice and SL Benfica at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice, south-eastern, on August 6, 2025. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)
Nice' Swedish forward #21 Isak Jansson warms up prior to the UEFA Champions League 3rd round first leg football match between OGC Nice and SL Benfica at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice, south-eastern, on August 6, 2025. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)
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Isak to Miss Start of Premier League Season for Newcastle Amid Uncertainty Over Future

Nice' Swedish forward #21 Isak Jansson warms up prior to the UEFA Champions League 3rd round first leg football match between OGC Nice and SL Benfica at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice, south-eastern, on August 6, 2025. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)
Nice' Swedish forward #21 Isak Jansson warms up prior to the UEFA Champions League 3rd round first leg football match between OGC Nice and SL Benfica at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice, south-eastern, on August 6, 2025. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)

Alexander Isak remains unavailable for selection for Newcastle heading into the start of the Premier League season amid ongoing uncertainty over the Sweden striker’s future at the club.

Isak was the subject of a bid from Liverpool during the offseason and has been training away from the Newcastle squad, having indicated he wanted to explore his options.

“Alex’s situation has been unchanged for a while,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said Friday, a day before the team’s league opener at Aston Villa, “and that will continue to be the case.”

According to The Associated Press, Howe wouldn’t discuss whether he has asked Isak to play against Villa, saying those conversations needed to stay private.

He did say, however, that the offseason has been challenging given the absence of the team’s star striker.

“Certainly early preseason, I haven’t shied away from saying that was a difficult period for the players, for us, because any change is always difficult to react to,” Howe said. “You can see that this summer in our early preseason performances.

“But I think the players are really strong mentally, they are a really tight group, they have really come together in the latter stages of preseason.”

Howe said his players know the situation is “not ideal” but “they realize, without Alex, everyone is going to have to step up and give more.”

Isak, who joined Newcastle in 2022 from Real Sociedad, netted 23 goals in the Premier League last season, placing him second in the scoring chart behind Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.

Newcastle is close to signing midfielder Jacob Ramsey from Villa but Howe said the player wouldn’t be involved in the game on Saturday.



Salah Will Get Fitting Liverpool Farewell Despite Injury, Says Van Dijk

Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Crystal Palace - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 25, 2026 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Crystal Palace - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 25, 2026 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
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Salah Will Get Fitting Liverpool Farewell Despite Injury, Says Van Dijk

Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Crystal Palace - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 25, 2026 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Crystal Palace - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 25, 2026 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is certain Mohamed Salah will get the send-off his glittering career deserves, even if injury prevents the Egyptian from playing again for the Reds.

Salah, who will leave Anfield after nine years at the end of the season, was forced off with a suspected hamstring injury in Saturday's 3-1 win over Crystal Palace.

Liverpool are awaiting the results of a scan to determine the extent of the problem, but with just four games of the campaign remaining, the 33-year-old may not feature again this season.

"If you get injured at this stage of the season, especially in the situation he is in, there is only two more home games left for him, it's a combination of feelings that go through your mind," said Van Dijk.

"He will get the send-off regardless. I don't think that is the thing at this point, we shouldn't think too far ahead.

"Knowing Mo, he is a quick healer and with the right people around him let's see."

Salah has scored 257 goals in 440 appearances since his arrival in 2017, behind only Ian Rush and Roger Hunt in Liverpool's list of leading goalscorers.

The winger has been integral to the club's rise back to the top of English and European football, winning the Champions League and two Premier League titles among a clutch of trophies.

Salah also scooped the players' player of the year award a record three times and was the Premier League's top scorer on four occasions.


Team-First Kane Propelling Bayern to Glory as PSG Showdown Looms

Bayern Munich's English forward #09 Harry Kane celebrates after scoring his team's fourth goal 3:4 during the German first division Bundesliga football match between 1 FSV Mainz 05 and FC Bayern Munich in Mainz, western Germany on April 25, 2026. (AFP)
Bayern Munich's English forward #09 Harry Kane celebrates after scoring his team's fourth goal 3:4 during the German first division Bundesliga football match between 1 FSV Mainz 05 and FC Bayern Munich in Mainz, western Germany on April 25, 2026. (AFP)
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Team-First Kane Propelling Bayern to Glory as PSG Showdown Looms

Bayern Munich's English forward #09 Harry Kane celebrates after scoring his team's fourth goal 3:4 during the German first division Bundesliga football match between 1 FSV Mainz 05 and FC Bayern Munich in Mainz, western Germany on April 25, 2026. (AFP)
Bayern Munich's English forward #09 Harry Kane celebrates after scoring his team's fourth goal 3:4 during the German first division Bundesliga football match between 1 FSV Mainz 05 and FC Bayern Munich in Mainz, western Germany on April 25, 2026. (AFP)

Having decisively ended his own silverware drought with back-to-back Bundesliga titles, Harry Kane's team-first approach has been key for a Bayern Munich side now chasing club football's biggest prize.

Whoever makes it through Bayern's Champions League semi-final against holders Paris Saint-Germain, with the first leg in the French capital on Tuesday, will be the favorites for the final in Budapest in May.

Last season's Bundesliga title was Kane's maiden team trophy, at the age of 31. Having added another league crown this season, Bayern's habit of hoovering up trophies is already rubbing off on the England captain.

As always, Kane's individual statistics this year have been stunning. The former Tottenham forward has 53 goals in 45 games in all competitions, the most by an Englishman in any league in almost a century.

And this time around, Kane's goals have come at crucial moments of big games.

Against Real in Madrid, his long-range strike proved to be the winner.

In the second leg, Kane's first-half goal brought Bayern level on the night and put them ahead in a quarter-final tie which was in danger of getting away from them.

- 'I'm here to win the Champions League' -

Kane left England 47 goals shy of Alan Shearer's Premier League scoring record, with some commentators wondering why he would leave with the mark in sight.

But while Kane developed a reputation at Spurs for stacking up individual records rather than team honors, in hindsight the striker's pursuit of goals was a clear example of his team focus.

Since moving to Bayern, a club with quality across the pitch and a number of threats, Kane often drops to help in the build-up, sometimes deep into midfield.

Kane's willingness to sacrifice individual honors for team objectives has never been more evident than in recent weeks, when Bayern had the league largely wrapped up and needed to focus on Europe.

After Bayern beat Dortmund in February, Kane had scored four consecutive braces. With 30 goals in 24 games, he looked on course for Robert Lewandowski's single season record of 41 goals.

But since then, Kane has started just one of Bayern's seven league games, as Vincent Kompany has wrapped him in cotton wool for the big stage.

After coming off the bench to help Bayern come from three goals down to win 4-3 at Mainz on Saturday, Kane told reporters where his true focus lay.

"It'll be tough," Kane said of chasing down Lewandowski's record. "Obviously I'm here to try and win the Champions League and try and win the German Cup.

"So, ultimately that takes priority. All I can do is when I'm on the pitch, try and score, try and impact the game."

Undoubtedly the biggest star in Bayern's dressing room, Kane could have pushed back against his benching, but he backed Kompany's call with loftier goals in mind.

- 'Something special' -

Bayern were always expected to beat Mainz on Saturday, but the way they overran their opponents in the second half showed their unrelenting hunger and desire.

"This team is truly something special -- that team spirit, that mentality -- it is truly unique," sporting director Christoph Freund said afterwards.

"That gives us a tremendous amount of energy for Tuesday."

Kane called PSG "the reigning European champions for a reason," adding the French champions are "a really strong side with some great quality and are well-coached.

"There's going to be a lot of activity. It's going to come down to moments and quality."

One challenge for Bayern is the absence of coach Vincent Kompany, who is suspended for the opening leg.

Kompany's English assistant Aaron Danks will be in the dugout. Kane said Bayern, who have lost just twice in all competitions this season, are well-drilled enough without the Belgian barking orders.

"Of course we'll miss him on the sideline. He's our boss and our leader. But everyone knows what needs to be done, even if the boss isn't on the sideline."


‘Heartbroken’ Xavi Simons Out of World Cup and Spurs Relegation Fight

25 April 2026, United Kingdom, Wolverhampton: Tottenham Hotspur's Xavi Simons is stretchered off injured during the English Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur at the Molineux stadium. (Nick Potts/PA Wire/dpa)
25 April 2026, United Kingdom, Wolverhampton: Tottenham Hotspur's Xavi Simons is stretchered off injured during the English Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur at the Molineux stadium. (Nick Potts/PA Wire/dpa)
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‘Heartbroken’ Xavi Simons Out of World Cup and Spurs Relegation Fight

25 April 2026, United Kingdom, Wolverhampton: Tottenham Hotspur's Xavi Simons is stretchered off injured during the English Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur at the Molineux stadium. (Nick Potts/PA Wire/dpa)
25 April 2026, United Kingdom, Wolverhampton: Tottenham Hotspur's Xavi Simons is stretchered off injured during the English Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur at the Molineux stadium. (Nick Potts/PA Wire/dpa)

Xavi Simons is out of Tottenham's Premier League relegation fight and this summer's World Cup with a knee injury, the Dutch star said, describing himself as "heartbroken".

The 23-year-old midfielder was left clutching his right knee and was stretchered off in distress in Tottenham's crucial 1-0 win at already relegated Wolves on Saturday.

In an emotional post on social media late Sunday, Simons said his season was over, with reports suggesting he may have sustained a serious ACL injury that could keep him out for several months.

"They say life can be cruel and today it feels that way," Simons, who has played 34 times for his country, wrote on Instagram.

"My season has come to an abrupt end and I'm just trying to process it.

"Honestly, I'm heartbroken. None of it makes sense.

"All I've wanted to do is fight for my team and now the ability to do that has been snatched away from me, along with the World Cup.

"Representing my country this summer, just gone."

Simons' injury is a major blow to new Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi, whose side are two points from Premier League safety with four matches remaining.

He would also have played a key part for the Netherlands at the World Cup in North America starting on June 11.