Newcastle United's Alexander Isak (right) is congratulated by head coach Eddie Howe
Newcastle United's Alexander Isak (right) is congratulated by head coach Eddie Howe
Eddie Howe wants to offer Alexander Isak the chance to catch Alan Shearer at the top of Newcastle United's goalscoring charts.
The Sweden striker - who is touch and go for the weekend clash against Everton - has 62 Newcastle goals to his name in all competitions and is some way off Shearer who sits proudly on 206. Isak is a little closer in terms of Premier League goals with 54 to his name with Shearer sitting 148 in total.
However, the record books aside, Howe would love to put talk of Isak's future to bed. The head coach was put on the spot at the Emirates Stadium when asked if he could guarantee Isak would put pen to paper on a new deal in the next few weeks.
Talks between Newcastle and Isak are on the schedule ahead of the close season. Howe would love to see Isak commit his future to the club beyond 2028 even though the player is attracting attention from across Europe.
Liverpool and Arsenal have both been linked with moves for the forward, and on the continent, Paris St Germain and Barcelona have cast admiring glances his way. Newcastle are in a strong position with the £150m-rated superstar, however, and the Newcastle hierarchy are keen to extend his stay on Tyneside.
Howe told Chronicle Live: "Alex has got three years left on his deal. And of course all contract situations are discussed and are talked about. But they are more delicately poised than people would naturally think from the outside. There is never one straight answer.
"Alex is under contract, we love him to bits and we want him to stay and keep enjoying his football like he has done. We want him to keep scoring goals for Newcastle for many years, that's my plan."
Isak hasn't quite looked himself since the Carabao Cup final, with an injury and fatigue playing a role. Newcastle are looking to add an extra striker to their ranks this summer to take some of the weight off him, and Liam Delap remains a target.
They won't entertain any bids for Isak, however. When asked about the talks and his future, Isak said in March: "About my future, it’s nothing really I think about. I’ve said many times during a season – just focus on the job – and now is probably the worst time to think about anything else.
"I’ve said I’m not really thinking about the summer, but yes, that’ll probably be a talking point once the season is finished. We will really see because no talks have been held yet."
Isak has been named in Sweden's squad for their summer internationals. However, his participation will depend on how well he recovers from his groin problem.