Eddie Howe has revealed that Alexander Isak's whirlwind move to Newcastle United happened 'so quickly' that there was not even time for the head coach to personally sell his vision to the club's record-breaking signing.
Isak completed his £58m transfer from Real Sociedad last Friday - just days after sporting director Dan Ashworth and head of recruitment Steve Nickson flew out to Spain on Newcastle's behalf to close the deal.
Isak had always been a top target of Newcastle's transfer committee, but a deal previously appeared unlikely because of the numbers involved. However, crucially, the lines of communication were kept open between the two clubs and an agreement was reached last week after Callum Wilson's hamstring injury slightly changed the profile of attacker Newcastle were targeting.
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"To be honest, it was very quick," Howe told reporters. "There wasn't necessarily time to sit down and sell my vision and my work to him.
"That had already been done, really, by the time I met with him and spoke with him for the first time. Certainly, now he has joined, I will be explaining everything to him and showing him how we will develop him while he is with us."
Although the move happened swiftly, Newcastle are still awaiting a work permit for Isak before Wednesday's game against Liverpool. Isak travelled to Wolves last week to sample a Premier League match day experience for the first time and the striker will join the rest of his team-mates at Anfield - even if he has not received clearance from the Home Office by the time Newcastle depart for Merseyside.
Newcastle could get the green light literally up to 75 minutes before kick-off and, even if that does not happen, Howe feels it will be another worthwhile exercise for the new arrival. Isak, after all, got a glimpse of the intense physical demands of the Premier League during Newcastle's 1-1 draw at Wolves and the Sweden international spent time in the dressing room as well as the stands on Sunday.
There is still a chance Isak could make his debut against Liverpool and the 22-year-old has been doing 'everything' in training in recent days to learn how Newcastle play and to get an insight into his his individual role and responsibilities in the side moving forward.
"We've had minimal training with him between games but what he has done, he's done very well," Howe said. "He's looked bright, keen and showed us just little flashes, but the sessions have been contained and been quite light. I'm certainly excited by him."
Howe has monitored Isak's development from afar ever since first watching the striker play for Sweden many years ago. The Newcastle boss always believed the Premier League would suit Isak's profile as an athletic, technical player and the new signing will certainly give the Magpies a new dimension in the final third - whenever he ultimately plays.
"I see him as a very exciting player," Howe added. "He's got a mix of attributes that will hopefully elevate us: pace, technical ability.
"He's a really good dribbler but, also, he's a team player. I don't think it's about him. He will want to help bring other people into the game as well. I see someone that has very quietly gone about his business with his time with us so far in a very impressive way."
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