Newcastle coach Eddie Howe talked about Isaac again in an interview with the media on Saturday local time.

When asked about possible loss of Isaac without introducing new players, Eddie Howe said: "I don't think the club will allow this to happen. We certainly can't have no orthodox strikers all season, which is not disrespectful to Osura. I think he performed very well and made obvious progress, but he has limited experience in the Premier League, but I am very satisfied with his career development. But at the moment, Isaac is the only striker in our team with a history of Premier League goals, appearances and starting, so we can't put ourselves in that situation."

22-year-old Osura has not started in the Premier League since joining from Sheffield United for £10 million a year ago. Anthony Gordon had to play the center position he was not used to in the 0-0 draw with Aston Villa last weekend, and he is likely to continue in that role against Liverpool on Monday night.

When asked how challenging Gordon was to be in the No. 9 position (he had played this role well in the 2023 English U21 Europa League squad), Eddie Howe said: "He is an attacker and a very good attacker. When we signed him, his advantage was to be able to play on the right, left, and maybe the middle, which he had done before. He also played in England, so it wasn't completely unfamiliar to him. I don't think anyone can take Isaac's position, Go Deng himself knew that. He wasn't going to be Isaac, but to be himself. If he scored a goal against Aston Villa, it would be the perfect Nine. I remember he had seven shots in that game, which looked very threatening and also caused a player to be sent off. He played his strengths, namely speed and dribbling skills, so, I think he performed very well. Of course, from the overall performance of the team, we were missing a goal, but hopefully the goal will come soon."