Newcastle United confident of retaining Alexander Isak amidst Tottenham Hotspur interest
According to Football Insider, Newcastle United are confident of retaining star striker Alexander Isak this summer despite interest from Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Chelsea.
The Swedish striker who joined the Magpies from Real Sociedad has gone on to establish himself as a key player for Eddie Howe. Despite a few injury issues, whenever fit, Isak has consistently scored goals.
Not the typical striker who plays with his back to goal, Howe has often preferred to put Isak up top with a proper number nine like Callum Wilson. Even when he starts as the lone striker, the 24-year-old tends to thrive with runs behind the defence.
One thing that Isak has which is very difficult to coach is his natural scoring instincts in front of goal. Not afraid to take a shot, the Swede’s striking ability means he finds the back of the net more often than not.
Understandably, such performances for one of the better Premier League sides has caught the eye of the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs. All three clubs need to reinforce their striker options in the squad.
Tottenham have failed to sign a replacement for Harry Kane since the club legend left for Bayern Munich last summer. Last season, Ange Postecoglou got inventive, deploying Heung-min Son as the striker.
Going into another season without a number nine could be disastrous but missing out on Isak might not be a bad thing. The Swede, if anything will be an upgrade on Richarlison and not the natural number nine profile that the club is lacking.
What Tottenham need is a striker who can play well with his back to goal. If he can drop deep and link-up play like Kane very famously used to do, it’s an added advantage. Most importantly, they need someone who knows where the back of the net is.
More Tottenham Hotspur News:
- “More minutes than expected”: Gold hints at bigger role for ‘very talented’ Tottenham starlet
- Tottenham unlikely to budge from £35m valuation for 24-year-old ‘priceless’ star
- Tottenham set to beat Real Madrid in the race for 23-year-old shot-stopper who has a €25m release clause
We still don’t know how far Spurs were in the Isak operation but now that Newcastle have decided to keep hold of him, it could be a blessing in disguise for the North London club to look at other, more realistic options. The 24-year-old would not have come cheap either and so, it’s fair to say that we’ve dodged a bullet here.
