Eddie Howe has confirmed Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak alternative ahead of Monday’s match against Liverpool.
The loss of Callum Wilson and the subsequent situation surrounding Alexander Isak has made the striker position at Newcastle a big talking point this summer.
Isak has made himself unavailable in a bid to force a move away from Newcastle with Liverpool, The Magpies’ next opponents, interested in striking a deal for the Swede.
In addition, a lack of incomings on the striker front has left Newcastle without an established striker to start the season.
Anthony Gordon led the line at Aston Villa in the Premier League opener last weekend and is expected to continue in the role until a striker signing is made or Isak returns, neither of which appears imminent.
But Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe insists he is relaxed about the situation and will deal with whatever hand he’s dealt, backing Gordon to deliver in the striker role.
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Anthony Gordon will be NUFC’s Alexander Isak alternaitve
When asked about Gordon starting up front against Liverpool, Howe said: “Yeah, I think he's done it enough to do the job really well for the team.
“I've got no issue playing him there. I've played him there a number of times, both as a starter and as a substitute.
“He plays it differently to maybe other strikers, but that can be a positive in the respect that he's got devastating pace.
“He's got a really good work ethic and, of course, he's scored goals historically from wide. And if you look at a lot of those goals, yes, some will be from wide areas, but some will be from central areas.
“So I think you can overplay sort of the change of position. I think he enjoys the role. I thought he played really well last week in lots of different phases of this game.
“Of course, it would be analysed by the one big one, which is all strikers are judged on their goals. He had a lot of chances, a lot of shots. So I thought it was a really good display from him.”
Like Isak, Gordon has also been targeted by Liverpool for a transfer with talks held last summer with Newcastle under PSR pressure. Gordon was understandably open to joining his boyhood club but a deal didn’t materialise and instead he got his head down, signed a new contract and Newcastle and played a key role in their Carabao Cup success, despite being suspended for the final against Liverpool.
Newcastle United still active in striker hunt
Newcastle have little over a week to sign a striker to replace Wilson and provide a natural alternative to Isak.
While Gordon can play up front, in doing so Newcastle are losing one of their most effective players as a left winger.
But with no new signings imminent and time against Newcastle, Howe admitted that there is a possibility of no new arrivals.
"Yes, of course,” Howe said. “I mean, [no signings] is equally possible.
“I think for us, we are still actively in the market but I think, I say all the time, that any transfer has to be right. And for a number of reasons, and this is the sort of to do with PSR, you're always trying to manage that situation.
"So, if we make a signing that goes against some of the long-term planning, we can put ourselves in a very difficult position again very, very quickly. So, we have to be careful with what we do.
"Yes, we have a need, but we also can't allow ourselves to go into a difficult moment where we're forced to sell a player, as we did with Elliot Anderson and Yakuba Minteh, So, we're always aware of that. And we're sort of at that moment where we have to be careful."
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