Newcastle United star Dan Burn believes Alexander Isak is the best striker in world football and has the ability to join Alan Shearer as one of the best attacking players in Magpies history.
The Sweden international has been in stunning form so far this season after plundering his way to 22 goals in 32 appearances in all competitions and racked up a half-century of goals for the Magpies in last month’s 4-3 home win against Nottingham Forest. Isak embarked on the more prolific goalscoring run of his career on Tyneside earlier this season when he bagged 18 goals in as many games and that provoked a whole host of conversations over whether the former Real Sociedad forward could be placed in the world class category.
For Burn, there is no doubt over his team-mate’s class as he stressed the striker has ‘reaped the benefits’ of adapting to the high demands of United manager Eddie Howe. And while Arsenal and Liverpool, among many of Europe’s elite, are coveting Isak, the Newcastle defender says the star can stay on Tyneside and go down in history as one of the greatest ever.
The Blyth-born defender said: “In my opinion, Alex is probably the best striker in the world at the minute. I feel he’s got everything. His finishing is unbelievable, but he also drops in to link play. You can go long to him if you have to.
“You can see that he’s full of confidence, which is great for us. I can’t speak highly enough about Alex, he’s done so much for the team.
“I think the run of games that he’s (Isak) had has really helped him. Call’s (Callum Wilson) had a few injuries, which has meant that Alex has been playing regularly every single week. I feel like he’s really built that relationship with the players around him.
“I’ve said it before, but I feel as though when players first come to this club, it takes time to understand what the manager wants from you, in possession and out of possession. I feel as if he’s really got a grasp of that now, and he’s reaping the benefits.”
Isak has been routinely praised by Magpies all-time record goalscorer Shearer in recent months and was described as ‘an assassin’ by the man who broke the world transfer record when he returned ‘home’ to Newcastle in a £15m during the summer of 1996.
Burn, who watched Shearer in action from the St James Park stands during his childhood, believes his current team-mate can join the Geordie legend as one of the best strikers to play for Newcastle if he can continue to find the net over a prolonged period. That would mean staying on Tyneside for the best years of his career – something the Swedish striker looks happy to do with three years left on his contract and talks set to start over an extension.
“I don’t see why he can’t be up there with any of the strikers we’ve had,” he explained. “I feel as if the very top forwards – your Shearers – have done it for such a long amount of time. I think that’s what he’s probably going to be judged on, but the form that he’s in at the minute, I can’t see why he shouldn’t.
“It’s easy to play against him in training, he never gets past me! I feel as if when you’re playing against these players all the time in training, you can pick up little tells and stuff. It’s a bit different. But when you come up against them on a weekend, and you’ve not had that experience, you can see why he has so much joy there.
“Alex is a very good player. He’s very hard to play against, just like Gordy is or all the forward players.”
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