Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has hit back against comments from Liverpool boss Arne Slot, defending his club’s stature and its management of top players.
The exchange follows Slot’s suggestion that Newcastle’s handling of Alexander Isak during a summer transfer dispute left the striker unprepared for his move to Anfield.
Isak, who joined Liverpool for a reported £125 million, is now sidelined with a groin injury sustained against Frankfurt on Wednesday.
The Swedish international has failed to hit the ground running, having scored only once in eight appearances.
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Howe’s response to Slot
Ahead of the game against Brentford, Slot called Newcastle United a smaller club following the Isak transfer management.
However, according to Daily Mail, Howe replied to his comment saying, “I like the way you’ve worded that… Encouraging me to go into bat!” he laughed.
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Liverpool boss Arne Slot || Image credit: Imago
“I don’t have to do that, I don’t feel. You’ve done it for me, reeling off all those things! But you obviously know what my answer would be.”
Slot questioned Isak’s pre-season conditioning, stating, “It also depends on what he did when he didn’t train with the team, what the impact is if you go to a new club as a big signing.”
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Eddie Howe. Photo. Imago
While Howe was reluctant to engage in a direct war of words, he firmly defended Newcastle’s infrastructure and player care.
“The set-up here is very good,” Howe stated. “It is not perfect, we’ve got things to improve and to grow. But the owners here have developed the facilities since I’ve been here very, very well.”
“You can see there is building work going on currently to hopefully deliver even better in the future. But I have no complaints. We’ve got elite athletes here, many of them, and touch wood, we’re managing them pretty well at the moment.”
