Many clubs will be watching Isak's situationMany clubs will be watching Isak's situation
Many clubs will be watching Isak's situation | Getty Images
Arsenal could get the window of opportunity they need to turn a striker target’s head this summer.
Arsenal could have the window they need to sign a striker target they are dreaming of. The Gunners need a new striker this summer, desperate for a more reliable frontman having been left without a striker altogether after Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz suffered season-ending injuries.
There were already questions over whether the Gunners needed more up top, and now there is no doubt that Mikel Arteta must prioritise a striker signing, and he could even do with two given Jesus will be out for much of the calendar year.
What we know at this stage is that Benjamin Sesko is Arsenal’s likely number one target, with the RB Leipzig striker likely to become available for a relatively affordable fee, and the only way Sesko won’t be number one is if Newcastle United’s superstar striker Alexander Isak somehow becomes available.
Isak is under contract until 2028, but he is likely to want improved terms having become one of the best two strikers in the Premier League, and among the most dangerous strikers in the world, especially with that reported interest from Arsenal and Liverpool.
A report from CaughtOffside backs that up, with claims that Isak has turned his nose up at Newcastle’s first new contract offer. It’s claimed Isak wants more than what was offered, and the Magpies have now decided to pause conversations, reviewing their strategy before returning to the table.
That could give Arsenal and Liverpool the opportunity to try to turn Isak’s head, though the striker will be an incredibly expensive transfer, given he will want very big wages, while Newcastle will surely demand more than £100million to sell, especially to a Premier League rival.
What Eddie Howe has said about Isak transfer links
Responding to Isak being linked with an exit, Newcastle boss Howe said in February: "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."
What Arteta has said about Arsenal’s striker needs
After failing to sign a striker in January, Arsenal boss Arteta said: “We had a clear intention which is always when a window opens to explore the opportunities to improve our squad with players that can make an impact. With players injured, we've been impacted and we haven't achieved it. We are disappointed in that sense but as well we are very aware that we only want to bring certain kinds of players and we have to be very disciplined with that as well. I think that we were.
"It's in the profile, a player that we believe can make us much better. Financially, there is a lot of ways, a lot of things that we must stay in the lane that has taken us this far and from there try to improve."
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