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Chris Waddle has sent Alexander Isak a transfer message with Arsenal linked with a swoop for the Newcastle United man.
Arsenal are in desperate need of a talisman this summer having fallen well short of the Premier League title race this season. According to widespread reports, Newcastle United star Alexander Isak is top of that list.
It had emerged earlier this month that the Gunners ‘intend’ on bidding £100 million to make those transfer rumours a reality with new technical director Andrea Berta tasked with finding a solution to the striking problem at the Emirates Stadium.
Berta signed the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Diego Costa and Luis Suarez while at Atletico Madrid and certainly arrived in North London with plenty of excitement. Isak has plundered 50 goals in 77 Premier League appearances since arriving at Newcastle United and is widely regarded as the division’s best bagsman.
Arsenal ‘want’ to sign Alexander Isak
However, Tottenham Hotspur legend Chris Waddle has given his opinion on the player’s future and it won’t please Arsenal fans. Waddle told 10bet: “Arsenal want Isak. Liverpool are reportedly looking at him. Paris Saint-Germain would probably love to take him.
“Some players leave football clubs simply for a change of scenery, you want to go to London or Paris, for example. I can understand why people are drawn to those places, but you've got to play.
“You don’t want to join a club, sit on the bench and make 10 appearances. At the end of the day, your description as a job is footballer, not a benchwarmer. You're not a judge! Not that Isak would have that problem, but we’ve seen plenty of players move on to supposedly bigger and better things over the years and not play.
“If he wants to go, then he's got to put his hand up and say, I want to move on. Newcastle will be sad to lose him. He's a very good centre forward. He scores his own goals. A lot of goals he scores, he makes them himself. And there's not many of these players around.
“I can see why Arsenal and Liverpool are looking at the lad and thinking he would do a great job for us. I can also see how he could have his head turned. He's come from Real Sociedad to Newcastle. He's done well. At first he was in and out of the team, Callum Wilson played a lot. They didn't really know where to play him. They thought, can we play him as a 10? They couldn't fit him in the team. Callum Wilson, unfortunately, gets a lot of injuries. Isak comes in and just takes the number 9 shirt.
Newcastle United star warned against Gunners switch
“Newcastle definitely don't want to lose him. They’re always saying there's a new deal, but if the lad has his head turned and thinks I want to go to London or I want to go to Paris, there's not a lot you can do.
“Arsenal's a better team than Newcastle at the minute, but Newcastle knocked them out of the cup. I think if he went it would be purely because of the Champions League, but then there’s every chance Newcastle can qualify. There’s not a great deal of difference between the two clubs. If it's financial, I'm sure Newcastle could offer him a massive deal.
“I wouldn't put Paris out of the picture. He might think, I want to go and play in another league. I’ve played in Spain; I've played in England. He may want to play in France. At Paris he is guaranteed to play Champions League football every season, guaranteed to win the league, basically to win everything in France.
“I hope he stays at Newcastle for at least another year. The fans like him. The club obviously like him, but we don't know what goes through his mind. We don't know his family life. Fingers crossed he stays at Newcastle for a long time, but at least another year.”
Isak was part of the team that lifted a historic Carabao Cup for the Magpies earlier this month. He was signed by the club for £63 million from Real Sociedad in 2022 and has three years left on his current contract in the North East.
Darren Eales confronts Alexander Isak transfer rumours
Speaking about the rumours of an Isak transfer this month, Newcastle United CEO Darren Eales said: “It is part of football. You would rather have people talking about players than not in the sense we know he is a world class player and he is somebody, obviously, other clubs would covet because he is an incredible player.
“It is part and parcel of the world we live in, but it is frustrating. It is part of what football is, everybody wants to have a story [transfer speculation] and talk about it but when you think about the growth of Newcastle we have the ambition to be a top club.
“There is a sense of annoyance as we are almost seen as the next category down and it is fair game to talk about our players but we are striving as a club to be at the top table and we want our best players here and to be honest it shows the value Isak has that they talk about him all the time.”
In other news, this Arsenal star produced a ‘dominant’ performance during the international break to help his side to a memorable win.
Related topics:Alexander IsakArsenalNewcastle UnitedPremier LeagueTottenham
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