Alexander Isak

[Likelylad]

  On 03/04/2025 at 06:35, Nucasol said:

Goddam Jon-Dahl Tomasson, still fucking us over even now… 

Expand  

I know it's not his style to flag it up publicly like that red nosed jock at Man U but really hope Howe was on to Sweden to have a word about that. 

A full 180 minutes across 2 friendly games. 

 

[Fak]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6252806/2025/04/04/alexander-isak-transfer-newcastle/

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Talk all you want about Alexander Isak – but keep your hands off

 

There are a few things you really need to know about Alexander Isak.

 

1. He is very good.

2. He is not yours.

3. You can’t have him, no matter how much you talk about having him.

4. He is not for sale.

5. You can’t afford him.

6. Even if he was for sale and you could afford him, you still can’t have him.

7. Newcastle United have won the Carabao Cup.

8. Point seven is not strictly relevant here, it’s just fun to write it down.

9. Back off, he’s ours.

 

Much has changed at Newcastle in recent times — from being bad to being good, from being a graveyard for ambition to having limitless possibilities and, the biggest of the lot, the transformation of perennial losers into glorious winners — but one thing which remains intact is a visceral response from supporters to the notion of selling their best players. It is like grumbling nausea, the itch of a livid scar.

 

There is a rich, depressing history here. In the 1980s it was Peter Beardsley, Chris Waddle and Paul Gascoigne, the family silver sold off and replaced inadequately. The mid-1990s brought a beautiful reversal, but the sight of Kevin Keegan standing outside the Milburn Stand in front of disgruntled fans defending the departure of Andy Cole to Manchester United remains iconic. He pleaded for trust and got it, but the ache was still felt.

 

Under Mike Ashley’s loveless ownership, there was Alan Pardew insisting Andy Carroll would not be sold only to be scrabbling a few days later to bring in Shefki Kuqi on a free once Carroll had, indeed, been sold to Liverpool. And even when a flailing club had a semblance of strategy — buying young and cheap, largely from France — it came with the knowledge that anybody half-decent would soon be gone. Even now, fans still sing “don’t sell (Yohan) Cabaye”.

 

Ever since Newcastle’s Saudi-led takeover was ratified in October 2021 and a splurge of (sensible) spending followed, there have been plenty of signposts pointing towards a day of reckoning. In a landscape of profit and sustainability rules (PSR), all clubs must eventually trade and the perils surrounding that were felt in the summer of last year when, in some desperation, Newcastle filled a £60million ($79m) blackhole by offloading Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh.

 

Back then, St James’ Park was very much open for business. Newcastle engaged in detailed negotiations with Liverpool over Anthony Gordon, the England winger, and took a speculative call from Chelsea regarding Isak, the repercussions of which stretched into this season when Howe was required to settle an unsettled squad without having any first-team-ready signings to provide them with competition.

 

That outlook has now altered. Having further trimmed Lloyd Kelly and Miguel Almiron from the wage bill in January, Newcastle will enter the next trading period in a far healthier position and contemplating a rebuild. After three transfer windows without much in the way of help, Howe needs and deserves reinforcements; without, as of yet, anything in the way of major infrastructure projects, it is he, his staff and his players who continue to promote the story of Newcastle and progress.

 

Darren Eales, the chief executive, spoke far more bullishly about Isak and other elite performers in a video call with journalists last month than he had done in January last year when he answered “yes” to a question about every Newcastle player having a price under PSR.

 

“We have no intention at all of those players being moved on. We’re not under the gun or anything like that,” he said this time. He added: “We’ve got an ownership that is ambitious and wants the best for the club. So from that perspective, it would be crazy for us to consider it.”

 

Eales was also asked about Isak continually being linked with other clubs, like Arsenal, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona. “We have that ambition to be a top club, so there is a sense of annoyance because we’re almost seen as that next category down, so it’s free game to talk about our players,” he replied.

 

Free game, it certainly has been. There have been times this season when Isak has scored and the immediate response, either on television or elsewhere, has been a version of “well, no wonder Arsenal want him”, rather than an appraisal of what it might mean for Newcastle, his employers. They are, let’s not forget, a club which have now (finally) won a trophy, has guaranteed European football next season and is still positioned nicely for a place in the Champions League.

 

We’ve done it ourselves, here at The Athletic. Not too long ago, our Arsenal writers debated whether the club should go for Isak, how he would fit into Mikel Arteta’s system and how much they would spend on him. It was absolutely legitimate as a concept because Isak has been top of Arsenal’s hitlist for a while and, let’s not forget, our Newcastle writers (cough) regularly list and write about Howe’s transfer targets. Yet from the perspective of Tyneside, it can only feel irritating.

 

Newcastle want to be Arsenal. They want to be better than Arsenal. They don’t want to help Arsenal and it is difficult to see how selling Isak could truly benefit them long-term, in spite of the money it would bring, when buying truly elite centre-forwards is notoriously problematic and expensive. Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali have all become top-level players under Howe if they weren’t before, but Isak is the one who feels irreplaceable. Priceless, even.

 

Against Brentford on Wednesday, Isak reached 20 Premier League goals for the season for the second time in a row, the first Newcastle player to have done so, meeting a cross from Jacob Murphy. It could and should have been more. There was a gorgeous move when he befuddled defenders and then played in Harvey Barnes when he could have shot, and other chances which went awry, but he is a combination of pace, trickery, ability, deception and grace. He is everything.

 

“I’m very pleased he’s a Newcastle player,” Howe said afterwards, a smile playing on his lips. “You’re defined by your ability to score goals in this league and your attacking players really have to take that responsibility. He’s done that unbelievably well since he’s been here. I don’t think this was his finest game and I don’t think he’d be surprised by me saying that, but right place, right time, maybe a bit of fortune with the finish but he’s done that consistently. He’s always in the right place. He’s such a talent and such a big player for us.”

 

Isak was withdrawn early with a minor groin complaint which Howe said meant he “was just a little bit unsure in his movements”, but the initial prognosis is that the Sweden international will be fit and available for Monday’s fixture at Leicester City. He will be on the hunt for more.

 

Isak, without question, is Newcastle’s most accomplished centre-forward since Alan Shearer and, at 25, still has his best days in front of him. The club took a calculated gamble when they signed him in August 2022, paying Real Sociedad £63million for a player who had made limited impact in an earlier spell at Borussia Dortmund and was still considered inconsistent. To make a worthwhile profit on that investment would take an eye-watering fee. Try £150m as a conversation-starter but don’t bank on that conversation enduring.

 

Isak has three years left on his present contract and it is Newcastle’s intention to initiate talks about an extension this summer, but there is no sense of panic because there doesn’t need to be. The past few weeks and the outpouring of emotion that has come with it demonstrates that winning things is no longer an impossible dream and if they can secure a return to the Champions League it would begin to feel like Europe is their natural home.

 

At the same time, this is also a subject that Newcastle fans must become used to, just not in an identical way to before. In the past, they lost their best players because the club were too small, withered or impoverished to keep them and ultimately because St James’ Park was not a place where excellence could thrive. Now it is the opposite. They are on an upward trajectory with designs on reaching the top and they are producing and developing world-class talent.

 

Eventually, there will be a big sale because that is Newcastle’s model, just as it is everybody else’s. But as Eales says, they would be “crazy” to sell Isak at the precise moment that he represents everything they are and want to be. They don’t need to and, to switch that around, why would he want to go? He has shown he can score at Wembley and make the ground shake, that he can lift a trophy at Newcastle, that he can play in Europe. And he knows that 300,000 people will take to the streets to offer him adoration.

 

You can talk all you want, but you can keep your hands off.

 

[Lush Vlad]

  On 03/04/2025 at 08:19, Beren said:

 

I would agree with this if we're talking about a young full back, or even a midfielder - but high up the pitch? I think he might just have a blindspot.

 

We've seen this for a few seasons also. You can see Isak can barely jog, let alone effectively harry, but he's kept on for the full 90 (when we had a slightly more spritely Wilson or young players who literally just needed to harry opposition).

Expand  

I’d like to see more of Osula. He has something about him and Wilson can barely move.
 

But against Brentford in the cup. He literally gave the ball away in a terrible area and when under little pressure. Leading to a goal from them. 
 

We had plenty of men up the pitch as we had comfortable possession and then got caught out. I’d imagine things like that do Howe’s head in. 
 

He also sees him in training every day and Osula still looks incredibly raw and chaotic in his play, to me. Which is why I want to see more of him. Love that kind of player, personally  

[Begbie]

Lineker: “I’m actually stunned, I’m not sure this can possibly be true. Alexander Isak is the first player in Newcastle’s history to score 20-plus goals in back-to-back Premier League season’s.”

[et tu brute]

  On 04/04/2025 at 15:19, Begbie said:

Lineker: “I’m actually stunned, I’m not sure this can possibly be true. Alexander Isak is the first player in Newcastle’s history to score 20-plus goals in back-to-back Premier League season’s.”

Expand  

Aye Shearer was biting like fuck  

[Begbie]

  On 04/04/2025 at 15:21, et tu brute said:

Aye Shearer was biting like fuck  

Expand  

I do like the chemistry between Lineker and Shearer

[Joelinton7]

Owen never got 20 in a league season in his whole career and ended up winning the balon d’or.

[54]

  On 04/04/2025 at 09:45, Fak said:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6252806/2025/04/04/alexander-isak-transfer-newcastle/

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Talk all you want about Alexander Isak – but keep your hands off

 

There are a few things you really need to know about Alexander Isak.

 

1. He is very good.

2. He is not yours.

3. You can’t have him, no matter how much you talk about having him.

4. He is not for sale.

5. You can’t afford him.

6. Even if he was for sale and you could afford him, you still can’t have him.

7. Newcastle United have won the Carabao Cup.

8. Point seven is not strictly relevant here, it’s just fun to write it down.

9. Back off, he’s ours.

 

Much has changed at Newcastle in recent times — from being bad to being good, from being a graveyard for ambition to having limitless possibilities and, the biggest of the lot, the transformation of perennial losers into glorious winners — but one thing which remains intact is a visceral response from supporters to the notion of selling their best players. It is like grumbling nausea, the itch of a livid scar.

 

There is a rich, depressing history here. In the 1980s it was Peter Beardsley, Chris Waddle and Paul Gascoigne, the family silver sold off and replaced inadequately. The mid-1990s brought a beautiful reversal, but the sight of Kevin Keegan standing outside the Milburn Stand in front of disgruntled fans defending the departure of Andy Cole to Manchester United remains iconic. He pleaded for trust and got it, but the ache was still felt.

 

Under Mike Ashley’s loveless ownership, there was Alan Pardew insisting Andy Carroll would not be sold only to be scrabbling a few days later to bring in Shefki Kuqi on a free once Carroll had, indeed, been sold to Liverpool. And even when a flailing club had a semblance of strategy — buying young and cheap, largely from France — it came with the knowledge that anybody half-decent would soon be gone. Even now, fans still sing “don’t sell (Yohan) Cabaye”.

 

Ever since Newcastle’s Saudi-led takeover was ratified in October 2021 and a splurge of (sensible) spending followed, there have been plenty of signposts pointing towards a day of reckoning. In a landscape of profit and sustainability rules (PSR), all clubs must eventually trade and the perils surrounding that were felt in the summer of last year when, in some desperation, Newcastle filled a £60million ($79m) blackhole by offloading Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh.

 

Back then, St James’ Park was very much open for business. Newcastle engaged in detailed negotiations with Liverpool over Anthony Gordon, the England winger, and took a speculative call from Chelsea regarding Isak, the repercussions of which stretched into this season when Howe was required to settle an unsettled squad without having any first-team-ready signings to provide them with competition.

 

That outlook has now altered. Having further trimmed Lloyd Kelly and Miguel Almiron from the wage bill in January, Newcastle will enter the next trading period in a far healthier position and contemplating a rebuild. After three transfer windows without much in the way of help, Howe needs and deserves reinforcements; without, as of yet, anything in the way of major infrastructure projects, it is he, his staff and his players who continue to promote the story of Newcastle and progress.

 

Darren Eales, the chief executive, spoke far more bullishly about Isak and other elite performers in a video call with journalists last month than he had done in January last year when he answered “yes” to a question about every Newcastle player having a price under PSR.

 

“We have no intention at all of those players being moved on. We’re not under the gun or anything like that,” he said this time. He added: “We’ve got an ownership that is ambitious and wants the best for the club. So from that perspective, it would be crazy for us to consider it.”

 

Eales was also asked about Isak continually being linked with other clubs, like Arsenal, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona. “We have that ambition to be a top club, so there is a sense of annoyance because we’re almost seen as that next category down, so it’s free game to talk about our players,” he replied.

 

Free game, it certainly has been. There have been times this season when Isak has scored and the immediate response, either on television or elsewhere, has been a version of “well, no wonder Arsenal want him”, rather than an appraisal of what it might mean for Newcastle, his employers. They are, let’s not forget, a club which have now (finally) won a trophy, has guaranteed European football next season and is still positioned nicely for a place in the Champions League.

 

We’ve done it ourselves, here at The Athletic. Not too long ago, our Arsenal writers debated whether the club should go for Isak, how he would fit into Mikel Arteta’s system and how much they would spend on him. It was absolutely legitimate as a concept because Isak has been top of Arsenal’s hitlist for a while and, let’s not forget, our Newcastle writers (cough) regularly list and write about Howe’s transfer targets. Yet from the perspective of Tyneside, it can only feel irritating.

 

Newcastle want to be Arsenal. They want to be better than Arsenal. They don’t want to help Arsenal and it is difficult to see how selling Isak could truly benefit them long-term, in spite of the money it would bring, when buying truly elite centre-forwards is notoriously problematic and expensive. Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali have all become top-level players under Howe if they weren’t before, but Isak is the one who feels irreplaceable. Priceless, even.

 

Against Brentford on Wednesday, Isak reached 20 Premier League goals for the season for the second time in a row, the first Newcastle player to have done so, meeting a cross from Jacob Murphy. It could and should have been more. There was a gorgeous move when he befuddled defenders and then played in Harvey Barnes when he could have shot, and other chances which went awry, but he is a combination of pace, trickery, ability, deception and grace. He is everything.

 

“I’m very pleased he’s a Newcastle player,” Howe said afterwards, a smile playing on his lips. “You’re defined by your ability to score goals in this league and your attacking players really have to take that responsibility. He’s done that unbelievably well since he’s been here. I don’t think this was his finest game and I don’t think he’d be surprised by me saying that, but right place, right time, maybe a bit of fortune with the finish but he’s done that consistently. He’s always in the right place. He’s such a talent and such a big player for us.”

 

Isak was withdrawn early with a minor groin complaint which Howe said meant he “was just a little bit unsure in his movements”, but the initial prognosis is that the Sweden international will be fit and available for Monday’s fixture at Leicester City. He will be on the hunt for more.

 

Isak, without question, is Newcastle’s most accomplished centre-forward since Alan Shearer and, at 25, still has his best days in front of him. The club took a calculated gamble when they signed him in August 2022, paying Real Sociedad £63million for a player who had made limited impact in an earlier spell at Borussia Dortmund and was still considered inconsistent. To make a worthwhile profit on that investment would take an eye-watering fee. Try £150m as a conversation-starter but don’t bank on that conversation enduring.

 

Isak has three years left on his present contract and it is Newcastle’s intention to initiate talks about an extension this summer, but there is no sense of panic because there doesn’t need to be. The past few weeks and the outpouring of emotion that has come with it demonstrates that winning things is no longer an impossible dream and if they can secure a return to the Champions League it would begin to feel like Europe is their natural home.

 

At the same time, this is also a subject that Newcastle fans must become used to, just not in an identical way to before. In the past, they lost their best players because the club were too small, withered or impoverished to keep them and ultimately because St James’ Park was not a place where excellence could thrive. Now it is the opposite. They are on an upward trajectory with designs on reaching the top and they are producing and developing world-class talent.

 

Eventually, there will be a big sale because that is Newcastle’s model, just as it is everybody else’s. But as Eales says, they would be “crazy” to sell Isak at the precise moment that he represents everything they are and want to be. They don’t need to and, to switch that around, why would he want to go? He has shown he can score at Wembley and make the ground shake, that he can lift a trophy at Newcastle, that he can play in Europe. And he knows that 300,000 people will take to the streets to offer him adoration.

 

You can talk all you want, but you can keep your hands off.

 

Expand  

  Quote

There are a few things you really need to know about Alexander Isak.

 

1. He is very good.

2. He is not yours.

3. You can’t have him, no matter how much you talk about having him.

4. He is not for sale.

5. You can’t afford him.

6. Even if he was for sale and you could afford him, you still can’t have him.

7. Newcastle United have won the Carabao Cup.

8. Point seven is not strictly relevant here, it’s just fun to write it down.

9. Back off, he’s ours.

Expand  

[Erikse]

 

[Fenham Mag]

He’s a big game player. He’ll score in champions league final one day. 
 

for us hopefully 

[M1tche]

  On 04/04/2025 at 16:09, Erikse said:

 

Expand  

That Miley pass vs Chelsea is just a brilliant now, as when it 1st happened

[Shush]

 

2 years ago today. Love Isak.

[r0cafella]

Never did like stats nonces. 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

“He should cost around £100m,” he says. “He’s a No 9, a rare striker, proven at the highest level. But his age is not super young, or the fee would be even more. He’s 25 — obviously, there’s growth potential still there, but he’s not going to grow like a 19- or 20-year-old. So he’s more or less a finished product in his prime years.”

 

Chaudhuri agrees. “Isak is playing at an incredibly high level — we rank him at eighth in the world for performance. That’s the biggest factor in determining whether he’s a £50m player or a £100m player. But then the other main variation you have is age.

 

“Our most valuable player in the world is (Barcelona winger) Lamine Yamal because he’s 17, performing at a phenomenal level, and any team that buys him would get years and years of value. It’s similar, but to a slightly lesser extent, for players such as Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, and Vinicius Jr, who are all 24 or under. Isak is still youngish, but 25 is not super young.

 

“So we value Yamal at £200m, whereas Isak would be closer to £100m. As an attacker, we tend to see scoring rates peak at around 25 or 26. It’s not like what it used to be in the days of Michael Owen, where players would fall off a cliff in their late 20s, and we might expect someone like Isak with a reasonably good injury record to sustain form into the future — but he’s not a real upstart any more.

As always with markets the price is set by the participants not by weirdos saying historically on average x% of revenue should be the fee. 

 

How much of PSGs revenue wad Neymar? Ah we didn't count that. Stats nonces indeed. 

[Tisd09]

Vini 24 such a youngster compared to Isak at 25 

 

 

[Chris_R]

What they're forgetting is he'll cost what we say he costs, not what they calculate he'll cost.

[Super Duper Branko Strupar]

  On 09/04/2025 at 07:54, r0cafella said:

Never did like stats nonces. 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

“He should cost around £100m,” he says. “He’s a No 9, a rare striker, proven at the highest level. But his age is not super young, or the fee would be even more. He’s 25 — obviously, there’s growth potential still there, but he’s not going to grow like a 19- or 20-year-old. So he’s more or less a finished product in his prime years.”

 

Chaudhuri agrees. “Isak is playing at an incredibly high level — we rank him at eighth in the world for performance. That’s the biggest factor in determining whether he’s a £50m player or a £100m player. But then the other main variation you have is age.

 

“Our most valuable player in the world is (Barcelona winger) Lamine Yamal because he’s 17, performing at a phenomenal level, and any team that buys him would get years and years of value. It’s similar, but to a slightly lesser extent, for players such as Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, and Vinicius Jr, who are all 24 or under. Isak is still youngish, but 25 is not super young.

 

“So we value Yamal at £200m, whereas Isak would be closer to £100m. As an attacker, we tend to see scoring rates peak at around 25 or 26. It’s not like what it used to be in the days of Michael Owen, where players would fall off a cliff in their late 20s, and we might expect someone like Isak with a reasonably good injury record to sustain form into the future — but he’s not a real upstart any more.

As always with markets the price is set by the participants not by weirdos saying historically on average x% of revenue should be the fee. 

 

How much of PSGs revenue wad Neymar? Ah we didn't count that. Stats nonces indeed. 

Expand  

 

Which thread did TCD post that in?

[ianbeany]

I want to know who the seven strikers that are better than him are

[r0cafella]

  On 09/04/2025 at 08:15, Super Duper Branko Strupar said:

 

Which thread did TCD post that in?

Expand  

Cmon man don't do TCD like that. 

 

It's from the athletic. 

[Unbelievable]

  On 09/04/2025 at 08:11, Tisd09 said:

Vini 24 such a youngster compared to Isak at 25 

 

 

Expand  

Madrid better sell him in June, for in July he turns 25 and his value suddenly halves

[54]

Is that article saying that his value goes down as he is in prime? Surely it's the opposite?

[Unbelievable]

  On 09/04/2025 at 11:05, 54 said:

Is that article saying that his value goes down as he is in prime? Surely it's the opposite?

Expand  

Aye man, everybody knows that player value halves the very moment a player starts hitting their prime, don’t they..?

[The Fountain]

  On 09/04/2025 at 08:12, Chris_R said:

What they're forgetting is he'll cost what we say he costs, not what they calculate he'll cost.

Expand  

Exactly, if somebody offered me the market price for my house Id tell them to piss off. I don't want to sell 

[KDT]

Hasn’t scored in 2. Worrying.

[Newcastle Fan]

He looked better today, i think with is groin problems we are doing well managing his minutes.

[PauloGeordio]

Saving himself for Villa!