Eddie Howe admits it was “impossible” for Newcastle United to replace Alexander Isak this summer.
While Isak has no doubt tarnished his reputation amongst Newcastle United fans, there’s little doubt he’s one of the best strikers in world football.
Newcastle sold Isak for a British record fee and even that does not feel like enough. He is a world class forward and still had three years to go on his contract which, when the summer transfer window opened, felt like it put the club in a very strong position.
Still, what’s done is done. Isak got his move to Liverpool, while the club landed Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa as replacements.
Indeed, there is justifiable excitement about both Wissa and Woltemade but Howe is keen to stress that replacing Isak is an impossible job for anyone.
Alexander Isak and Eddie Howe following a Carabao Cup game between Newcastle United and Manchester City.
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
Eddie Howe admits replacing Alexander Isak is “impossible”
The Newcastle United manager insisted that the likes of Woltemade and Wissa need time to bed into his team.
Expecting either to suddenly take up the mantle of being one of the best strikers in the world is unfair, though for different reasons.
Wissa is coming off a disrupted pre-season and while that is partly of his own making, it clearly doesn’t help. The forward has also suffered a knee injury and will miss Saturday’s game against Wolves.
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Woltemade, meanwhile, remains a raw talent with not much experience behind him. Comparisons with Isak would not be helpful for a player looking to make his way in the Premier League.
Speaking at Friday’s pre-match press conference, Howe said: “I think it would have been impossible to have replaced Alex like-for-like. There’s no other player like Alex, he was totally unique. He had his qualities and I think it’s important we don’t compare whoever we bring in to Alex, because I think that’s very difficult to do.
“I think each player that comes in is an individual in their own right and has their own strengths and weaknesses. There will be a process where we have to mould ourselves to them, and vice-versa.”
Eddie Howe appears to aim slight dig at Liverpool
Though everyone is now looking to move on from the ugly Isak saga, there were always going to be questions about it at Friday’s pre-match press conference, given it was Howe’s first since the transfer window shut.
When speaking about the story of the summer, Howe made a pointed effort not to name Liverpool when discussing what happened behind the scenes with Isak.
Instead, he referred to them as “the other club”.
He said: “I think the issue for him was more when the other club came [in], that then changed his thought process. I never had a day where Alex didn’t look like he enjoyed being at Newcastle. 100%.”
Woltemade is likely to start for Newcastle against Wolves on Saturday, with Wissa injured.