Alexander Isak is the best striker in the Premier League right now.
By Sam McGuire
Yes, he’s better than Erling Haaland.
The Newcastle United striker took a detour to the top. He burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old for AIK and was snapped up by Borussia Dortmund just shy of 12 months after netting his first goal for the Swedish side.
Dubbed the ‘New Zlatan Ibrahimović’, Dortmund parted with a rumoured £7.5million fee to sign the 17-year-old. He reportedly rejected a move to Real Madrid with his eyes firmly on playing first-team football on a regular basis.
His time in Germany was disappointing though and he was limited to just a handful of appearances. The club decided to loan him to Eredivisie side Willem II. While there, he became the first foreign-born player in the Eredivisie to score 12 goals in his first 12 league games and he finished his stint with the club having scored 14 in 18 appearances across all competitions.
Real Sociedad, surprisingly, won the race to sign him after the impressive loan stint in Holland. Isak had a few injury issues in Spain but posted solid enough numbers. During his second season with the club, he scored 17 LaLiga goals. It was a glimpse into what might be. Either side of that, however, he found the back of the net a combined 15 times.
He was linked with big moves but top tier clubs refused to pull the trigger on him. Newcastle made the bold decision to make him their main man in attack, agreeing to pay a fee believed to be in the region of £63million.
It was an eye-watering amount. A club-record fee. It was a deal that had people raising eyebrows. The Magpies were paying for potential rather than quality. At least, they were at the time, anyway.
He settled into life in the Premier League with 10 goals in his debut campaign. It was a season impacted by a thigh injury that kept him sidelined for 19 games. Many wondered whether this might be a sign of things to come.
It wasn’t though.
Well, groin injuries kept him out for 12 games last season but he still netted 21 Premier League goals. Despite the lofty price-tag reportedly placed on him, he was linked to Chelsea and Arsenal with both teams in the market for a goalscoring centre-forward. He remained at St James’ Park this summer but this could well be his last campaign with the Magpies.
Isak has carried his goalscoring form of yesteryear into the current season. He’s on 17 for the season already in just 21 matches.
He’s also chipped in with five assists, taking his tally to 22 goal involvements in the Premier League. It is a total that only Mohamed Salah (32) can better.
The Newcastle striker scored in eight successive matches before blanking against Bournemouth recently. He then found the back of the net twice in the win over Southampton to take his tally to 13 goals since the start of December. He’s also scored in nine of his last 10 matches in the English top-flight and 10 in his last 11 outings across all competitions. And these goals have come against top opposition too.
He scored and assisted against league leaders Liverpool. He’s found the back of the net against Chelsea and Arsenal, both in cup competition and in the league, as well as scoring against Tottenham, Aston Villa and Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Isak is no flat-track bully.
His FotMob rating og 7.63 is the fifth highest in the Premier League this term. The 25-year-old is performing at an elite level.
At the time of writing, Isak ranks third for goals scored behind Erling Haaland (18) and Salah (19). He’s also third for Expected Goals behind the same two players and third for Expected Goals on Target. It shows his output is sustainable.
He’s fifth for xG on a per 90 basis and only 21st for shots. The likes of Matheus Cunha, Raúl Jiménez, Eberechi Eze and Antoine Semenyo have averaged more efforts per 90. It shows that he’s not reliant on volume and he’s a genuine goal threat and a chance-getter.
His 3.31 shots per 90 is relatively low for a top-class striker. They tend to be dangerous because of the shot volume they’re able to generate. The likes of Salah and Haaland regularly average over four shots. A difference of 0.7 might not seem like a lot but over a 38-game campaign it is 27 more shots. That is a significant amount.
Newcastle play to his strengths, as referenced by Eddie Howe after the win over Southampton.
“We try to get a balance between information and freedom,” said Howe of his management of the Sweden international. “I think he’s so creative naturally that putting too many restrictions on his game in terms of where he moves would be a negative.
Now reportedly wanted by Liverpool as well as Arsenal, Isak could soon become the most expensive signing in Premier League history, surpassing the £114million Chelsea spent on Enzo Fernández. Newcastle are believed to want £120million for the 25-year-old, though he’s only valued at £70million right now on FotMob.
And if the reports are true and he’s liked by the top two in the league, they could well get that sort of money. Arsenal have already spent over £100million on a player when they signed Declan Rice. Liverpool were prepared to pay that when they bid for Moises Caicedo.
Isak could’ve been one of those wonderkids who falls into purgatory after one wrong transfer move. He got his career back on track though and is now destined for the very top. It is exactly where he belongs.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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