Jose Mourinho has lavished praise on Eddie Howe and his Newcastle squad for the manner in which they handled Alexander Isak's strike action last summer. The Sweden international downed tools and refused to participate in training or matches in a bid to secure his £130m transfer to Liverpool, leaving Newcastle without a striker and precious little time to source a replacement as the window drew to a close.

However, the former Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United manager believes Newcastle have bounced back impressively from the Isak saga. He also identified Nick Woltemade as a major danger to his Benfica side ahead of tonight's Champions League encounter at St James' Park.

Mourinho said: "What happened with Isak in the summer is very difficult for a club and very difficult for a coach and very difficult for the fellow players."

"I think in the end everybody knows he is going to leave to Liverpool. But one thing is everybody knows he is going to leave, and another is it is done.

"When it is done you can move on, when it is done you can have a new player and when you...