Alexander Isak is now making a mockery of anybody who suggested that £63million was too steep for the Sweden international back in 2022.
It was the reason why some La Liga clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona stepped aside when Newcastle began to get serious with Real Sociedad and cranked up their bids two summers ago. And now, after finding his feet and getting an injury free run in the side, Isak is looking very much like the main man on Tyneside.
As he edged to 23 goals for Newcastle he was lauded by Alan Shearer on Match of the Day on Saturday night after grabbing two in the 5-1 demolition job against Sheffield United. Shearer reflected: “He is just a constant threat all the time. His finishing is excellent and his penalty taking is as good as they come. He is confident and cool and believes in everything he is doing.”
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His head coach Eddie Howe was equally impressed, he said: “For me, I think the biggest thing is would I swap him with anybody else? No, I wouldn’t. When you look at his age profile and what’s to come, you look at his attributes and his qualities, he’s some talent.”
Isak stands in third place in the Premier League’s race for the golden boot and is just two goals behind Erling Haaland. With four games left the mind boggles over the possibility of him being the top-flight’s leading marksman.
Sitting on 19 Premier League goals, Isak bettered Callum Wilson’s tally of 18 as last term’s top scorer in the top division. Having bettered Shearer’s Premier League tally in 2002/03 (17), the one-time Borussia Dortmund youngster is after more records.
His next target will be to edge past Big Al’s 22-goal tally in the Prem back in 2003/04 but whether there is enough time to beat Shearer’s 25-goal haul in the 1996/97 campaign is debatable and he is unlikely to get anywhere close to Andy Cole’s magnificent 34 goal collection in 1993/94 although the former No 9 had an extra four matches to get there given the old 42-game season format.
Looking longer-term can Isak do the ultimate in terms of goalscoring in a Newcastle shirt and find a way past Shearer’s proud total of 206 goals? That would take some doing but at 24, if he is committed enough to United, it is not impossible if he can keep up his hot streak.
Shearer – a model of consistency – dedicated the best years of his career to Newcastle when he could have easily signed for Manchester United and picked up a bucketload of medals. For now, Isak must simply keep his head down and continue doing the business for Newcastle.
This season he has spearheaded the charge back to Europe and with games against Burnley (a), Brighton (h), Man United (a) and Brentford (a), there is room to make it an even more impressive campaign.
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