Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has admitted he has "no idea" which direction the Alexander Isak transfer saga is headed in after the club's chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan flew into Tyneside for Monday's clash with Liverpool.
Newcastle fought back from 2-0 down at St James' Park despite being reduced to 10-men following Anthony Gordon's dismissal in the first half, but ultimately went on to lose the game after a late strike from Liverpool teenager Rio Ngumoha.
Isak was not in the Newcastle squad as he continues to agitate for a move away from Newcastle, with Liverpool having had a £110 million ($148.76m) offer for the striker rejected earlier this month.
Asked whether Al-Rumayyan has held talks with Isak, Howe said: "I'm not aware of that but 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."
When pressed on whether the reason for Al-Rumayyan's presence on Monday was related to Isak, Howe said: "I don't know why he's here in a sense that that the main reason he's here is obviously to watch the team, support the team and show his presence, which is much appreciated from my perspective and much loved by everyone when he is here and connecting with the fans.
"But yes, you're right, he's the owner. He's the most important person in terms of directing which decisions we make. But as I said, I'm not party to any conversations that have happened today, so I've got no idea what direction that's in."
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Howe added: "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.
"We've given two really, really good performances. We've ended up with one point. That's tough for us to take and especially in this moment where you are looking for positive to clinging to, but we battle through and we now go on to Leeds"