There were those who weren’t convinced by Newcastle’s £63m signing of Alexander Isak after seeing that he only managed to bag six goals at Real Sociedad last season.
Then there were those who looked beyond that and saw that the potential in this player is way beyond anything we’ve had at this club since Shearer.
The nufcblog have brought to light a stat that shows just how good a player we have in our ranks: Since the start of the 2019/20 season, Alexander Isak has scored 41 non-penalty goals. Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are the only other players aged under 23 who have scored more goals from open play across Europe in three years. Again, if you consider that Isak had a relatively poor season last year with Real Sociedad, that stat becomes even better.
Isak immediately showed his class on his debut against Liverpool, bagging a brace (albeit one being ruled out) and then against Palace showing quick thinking to dispossess Andersen and charging through one-on-one with Guaita, unfortunately opting to try and dink the in-form ‘keeper instead of slotting the ball either side. But that was enough to give Geordies an idea of the type of talent we have.
It’s not just his goalscoring that makes him such a bargain either, he has excellent feet, stunning pace, great awareness and keen eye for a pass. His outside-of-the-foot through ball for Joe Willock against Palace was sublime.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. When Bruno, Maxi and/or Anderson are supplying him with chances, Isak is going to be a menace to Premier League defenders.
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Maybe Ritchie can be groomed to be the next DOF at the Toon. Let’s see where he ends up