Alexander Isak has already made his mark in the Premier League at Newcastle United but with his stock continuing to rise, this season could be the most important one of his career so far.
In a way, Alexander Isak was destined to come this far in his career. Even though he crossed the ten-goal mark only once in three seasons at Real Sociedad and found the back of the net only six times in his last campaign at La Real, the Swede always had a raw talent.
The first time he caught the global eye was at EURO 2020 and he did that without even scoring, grabbing two assists in four games and showing glimpses of being a technically gifted forward despite his tall 6’3” frame. He was already showing all of that for Real Sociedad at club level during that period and it seemed like it was only a matter of time before it came to the fore on a consistent basis.
At Newcastle, that is exactly what has happened. Despite having his first season curtailed due to injury, the Swede got ten goals at the rate of 0.59 goals per 90 minutes.
He bettered that tally last season, when he banged in 21 Premier League goals at the rate of 0.83 goals per 90 for Eddie Howe‘s side, showing exactly how far he had come under the Englishman, whose system seems to bring the best out of the Sweden international.
It shouldn’t escape our attention that the 24-year-old had arrived at the club for a fee of £63m, which was Newcastle’s record transfer at that point. That pressure never held Isak back and despite the threat of recurring muscle injuries, he has managed to succeed and has become a fan favourite that many other clubs would gladly want in their side.
One thing is for certain though – Isak’s charm doesn’t just lie in goalscoring. Granted, he is very reliable when it comes to finding the net, but he is more than that. He offers an ability on the ball which helps those around him and he is always keen on taking a defender on and beating him. That skillset is quite rare for a forward who is as tall as Isak, but is fairly reminiscent of another ex-Sweden hero – Zlatan Ibrahimović.
Howe’s system relies on pressing high up the pitch and Isak keenly does that, while also showing an incisive nature in the wide channels, where he links up with teammates very well and makes the runs that stretch the opposition.
He is constantly prowling around the final third and that benefits him a lot, making sure that he is regularly amongst the goals. Having said that, a strong case can be made of the fact that Isak offers way more in and out of possession than the likes of Ivan Toney or even Tottenham’s big-money signing Dominic Solanke. He probably offers more than Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus and if not for Erling Haaland, he could probably walk into the current Manchester City setup as well.
Players of this ilk offer incredible value to all kinds of systems and considering how Isak has overperformed on his xG reliably in his two seasons at St James Park, referring to him as a pretty good finisher is a safe assumption to make.
He scored against Tottenham in Newcastle’s last game before the international break, while impressing once again with his overall approach, then added three goals in two appearances for Sweden in the Nations League. And that tally will only increase as the weeks go by and the season wears on. In the long run, that might spell danger for Newcastle, especially if they fail to make qualify for Europe and their well-documented PSR issues come to the fore again.
Isak could easily fetch close to or over €100m for Newcastle and help them make a solid capital gain on what they initially signed him for. And the club have a recruitment structure in place which would ensure a suitable replacement is found.
Another impressive season will catapult Isak’s reputation into the orbit, showing how he has now adapted to four different countries in what is a pretty young career. He won’t just solve a side’s problems in the present but would also guarantee them goals for the next few years as well.
Injuries might be a bit of an issue but if the ex-Borussia Dortmund man can stay away from those, nothing really can stop him from flying.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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