Newcastle United talisman Alexander IsakNewcastle United talisman Alexander Isak
Newcastle United talisman Alexander Isak | Getty Images
Barcelona were the latest club to be linked with Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak over the weekend.
Speculation over Alexander Isak’s long-term future at Newcastle United is making headlines once again.
Magpies supporters have become weary and understandably frustrated over the constant talk of the Sweden international attracting attention from several other big-name clubs - despite both Isak and Magpies boss Eddie Howe denying any talk of a move away from St James Park.
There should be no surprise the former Real Sociedad and Borussia Dortmund has some high-profile suitors given the outstanding impact he has made since joining Newcastle in a reported £63m club record deal in August 2022. Since marking his debut with a goal and an eye-catching performance in a 2-1 defeat at Liverpool, Isak has scored 68 goals in 100 appearances in all competitions and dealt the decisive blow when he found the net in last weekend’s 2-1 Carabao Cup Final win against the Reds as the Magpies brought an end to their 70-year wait for major domestic silverware.
Barcelona were the latest club to be suggested as suitors for Isak over the weekend - but football finance expert Stefan Borson has described such a move as ‘highly unlikely’ given the ongoing financial issues within the Catalan giants. He told Football Insider: “Barcelona for the last five years have been doing deals that, on any basis, you would think would be impossible, so I don’t know. I think it’s very unlikely. I think the fee that Newcastle would want to demand would be probably £125-150million. Why else would you sell him? I just think it’s hugely unlikely. But Barcelona are the one club that’s proved any analysis of logical investment wrong. By all measures, they should have been bust a long time ago.”
So what else has been said about Isak’s future and have any hints been delivered over a possible move away from Tyneside?
What has Eddie Howe said about Alexander Isak’s Newcastle United future?
Speaking last month ahead of a defeat at Manchester City, Howe said: "We have to try and keep our best players. "That's crucial to our short-term success and our long-term success, so sitting here as the manager of the football club, I'd be saying we need to keep the group together and we need to add the other way. We haven't added [to the first team] in a long time in various transfer windows for the reasons we've all discussed.
“But we need to move the team forward and we can't lose our best players. I'm sure Pep would give the same answer - I love working with Alex and I wouldn't swap him for anyone. We've got a good relationship and he's got a good relationship with his team-mates. We've tried to help him by moulding our style of play to suit his game.”
What has Alexander Isak said about his Newcastle United future?
Not for the first time in his Magpies career, Isak was questioned about his future on Tyneside during an international break. The United striker featured for Sweden in their surprise 1-0 friendly defeat against Luxembourg on Saturday and is currently preparing for another friendly with Northern Ireland on Tuesday. When asked if he was paying attention to speculation over his future, Isak batted away any suggestions and revealed his determination to achieve more success with the club.
Isak told Fotbollskanalen.se: "From within the club and from our side there are absolutely no discussions. It's just full focus on playing for me. There is a lot of writing outside but within the club no one is talking about anything like that. I just want to perform for Newcastle. Now we won the cup, but we want to finish strong and reach the Champions League games. It's pretty normal, pretty much the same as it was before. I do my best to relax and live as usual. But it's clear that it's hard to avoid everything that is written on social media."
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