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Alexander Isak is set to return to action next week after he was picked for Sweden's World Cup qualifying matches against Slovenia and Kosovo. Isak is currently training alone after he missed Newcastle's pre-season tour of Asia, having made it clear that he wants to join Liverpool.

The Reds have had a £110million offer rejected by Newcastle, who value Isak at around £150m instead. The striker escalated the situation last week when he accused Newcastle of breaking promises they made to him.

Club chiefs did hold crunch talks with Isak on Monday in an attempt to reach a resolution, with the 25-year-old informing them that he still wants to join Liverpool and has no interest in playing for Newcastle again.

Despite Isak's lack of game time, Sweden boss Jon Dahl Tomasson has named the forward in his squad for their upcoming qualifiers. Sweden are set to face Slovenia on September 5, before meeting Kosovo on September 8.

Isak is joined in the squad by a number of other Premier League stars including Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres, Tottenham midfielder Lucas Bergvall and his Newcastle teammate Anthony Elanga.

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When asked about his decision to select Isak, Tomasson admitted the ongoing saga is "not perfect". He said: "I am very happy that Alexander Isak wants to be in the squad, he is a huge player.

"The situation he is in is not perfect and he has not trained with the team. But he is a player who can decide matches and he wants to be part of our squad, the World Cup is important for Alexander Isak."

It remains to be seen what the future holds for Isak, with less than a week to go in the transfer window. Speaking after Newcastle's dramatic 3-2 defeat to Liverpool on Monday, Toon boss Eddie Howe said: "I've not been party to talks on this for a long time now.

"So, I've been preparing the team, giving all my energy to the players that want to play for Newcastle. I think that's where my energy is best. I'm not party to the talks that have been happening, so I've got no idea where that stands.

"From our side, we want clarity, we want to move forward. We want the narrative to change because we're in the start of the season now, we're into the action and we've got to get results and we've got to try and focus on what we can control."

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