Am I right in thinking that his stock was down quite a bit when Newcastle bought him? I remember he wasn't exactly unknown at the time so was just wondering why nobody else was in for him.
Alexander Isak
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More well rounded for sure.
Mentioned it on the previous page, he had one hell of an off-season they year before Newcastle bought him. Only 6 goals in 32 league apperances, and 2 of them were penalties. As compared to the 17 goals he had scored the season before that.
Has a lovely way of carrying the ball, looks effortless but also at speed. Classy player who I thought would be more of a 10-15 goal a season player but could get 20+ league goals for the second season in a row.
Gosh, can you imagine if a United striker scored at a rate of 2 goals from open play in 16 games having scored 16/17 goals the season before, and the judgements that'd be made about them. Surely that player would be one for the scrap heap.
clubs probably preferred to wait and see how he'll perform after such underwhelming season before spending big.
Newcastle decided to make that offer sooner and it paid off.
I was jealous when Newcastle signed him, but now I'm just annoyed.
Firmino's best season was 15 PL goals. Isak got 21 PL goals last season. He is levels above peak Firmino.
Is he an Ashworth signing?
Think that was it in a nutshell. I remember Arsenal being linked constantly with him for a couple of seasons, he had a proper breakout year in 20/21 then had a poor season in terms of output in 21/22.
He played off the left most of the time at Sociedad and I remember there were debates at the time if he was better as a wide player or through the middle, a bit like the Rashford debates around the same time.
Newcastle took the gamble while other clubs were hesitant to pay a big fee for someone with a mixed output, and that gamble has paid off massively for them.
Wasting his time at a no-name club whose fanbase will never extend beyond the north east.
His contract runs till 2028, and he’ll be 28 years old then. I’d be very surprised if he sees it out at Newcastle.
His contract runs till 2028, and he’ll be 28 years old then. I’d be very surprised if he sees it out at Newcastle.
The Northeast and the Middle East surely?
Real Madrid and Barcelona rule in the middle east for the most part.
City haven't had that much traction considering how much they've won, and they were able to accelerate it all pre-PSR and with dodgy sponsorships and a weak UEFA. Newcastle will have to do it all in a harder environment, and it is going to take at least a decade of winning before they actually make a dent and have any significant international fanbase.
Isak will be retired before playing for Newcastle feels like playing for a big club, if it ever happens.
Very different players.
I know. I wasn't the one who compared the skillset of the two players.
Highlight in bold where I said he was more prolific than Isak, that’s because I didn’t. I said traits, some strikers have similar in their playing style, some excel in certain attributes than others.
Player of the year?
Cool. Certain aspects of Weghorst's work rate remind me of Tevez's off-the-ball chasing. That doesn't mean I would ever compare the two strikers.
Howe thanked the owners at the time and the transfer committee, but the two doing the deal in Spain at the time were Ashworth and head of recruitment Steve Nickson (the latter was in contention to become the new DoF). Nickson is credited with Guimarães for example. I'd assume it was Nickson driving things, but Isak was a sought after player then of course. But credit to them for putting up the money required, no one else did and he's turned into a phenomenon.
As someone who lives in Yorkshire, I can categorically state that this is incorrect. There's loads of them round here. Newcastle's fanbase extends beyond the North East, and I assume well beyond the north of England as well. Not that it would make any difference to Isak's career decisions anyway.
You just did.
That second Newcastle goal doesn’t happen without a CF with good close control/dribbling, quick decisive passing and the ability to finish.
Makes you wonder what our scouts/analytics team look for when coming up with a short list of striker valued around the 70m mark.
Makes you wonder what our scouts/analytics team look for when coming up with a short list of striker valued around the 70m mark.
Can’t help but lament the forwards we target when the teams around sign technically brilliant ones like Isak.
The ease with which he went past Saliba was something. Exactly the kind of striker we need but I’m sure most teams feel the same way.
Not half, there's a dearth of top quality centre forwards, and the real puzzle is 2 of the highest rated ones that could be on the market are currently playing in Portugal and Turkey.
I wasn’t at all convinced by Isak in fairness, he was billed as the next Zlatan here in Sweden from a very young age, but failed to make any impact at Dortmund.
He then spent 3 seasons at Sociedad and in only one of them did he really show a glimpse of the potential everyone had always spoken about.
When he followed that season by scoring just 6 league goals the following year, all the way still failing to show anything for the national team, I thought Newcastle were taking a very brave oil club punt on a player with only one decent season in a good league on his resume.
Turns out that transfer prices for young forwards went absolutely nuts and he then looked like a great punt, but even then I think his Newcastle form is far better than anyone expected, looks a truly brilliant player now.
Are you Swedish?
Regarding Isak and what you said, that's pretty much exactly how my thought process went. He was an exciting talent at AIK but never really kicked on at Dortmund and when he went to Socidad i thought he had found his level and be a decent midtable player. But i've been very impressed by him at Newcastle and admit i was wrong about him. Just shows how you shouldn't count players out too early. There's a lot of variables in to what makes a player successful and the right club is one of those and with the right club it can just click.
Hope we are in for him!
Best CF in the PL
English, but going on 17 years here now.
Both Ødegaard and Isak are great examples of young players that many (including myself) were a little to quick to write off as top prospects.
I believed both would end up around Sociedad level.
Dan Ashworth eh.
Shock that a young player needed time and experience to fulfill their potential.
Yes and my point is that as talented as Isak is, he also greatly benefited from having time to develop without pressure
A classic example of our fanbase looking at a player than has hit a really good patch of form and asking why we didn't in hindsight fork out £70m for him. Sometimes these things work out and sometimes they don't. Hes worked out for Newcastle but that wasn't a sure thing.
70m is the tip of the iceberg. apparently newcastle had to buy him a house big enough to fit in all the kallax and pax wardrobe furniture that ikea provide. they had to buy volvos for his whole family, and they spend £50 a day on meatballs for him.
Højlund didnt and I dont think he has the ceiling Isak has. I do belive Højlund could become as good as Gyokeres unless to much damage is already done. He was very good at running and being in the right spot before he joined us. The first game for us is a decent indicator.
But he has regressed to a point where I am losing all hope in him.
Had he stayed in Italy it would have been better for him and for us.
Tbh, I am not really sure why it’s a point inserted into Isak’s thread? Whilst I agree with it and have made the same point continuously in Hojlund-related threads, it’s not really a discussion for this one outside of the broader point that youngsters take time to develop and iron out their game.
I’m in the camp that believes he has regressed since getting here and I think as the stress and pressure builds, the panic overwhelms and really breaks a player more often than not. Being the main man at a huge club is not for the faint-hearted and most will wilt under such intense pressure when things are not going well and every game is a compound of the last one. It’s unfair on those thrust where they shouldn’t be, and it’s almost universally agreed that Hojlund needed a main striker to learn and develop under and take the brunt of the pressure and spotlight so he could develop in relative peace.
But let’s not make Isak’s thread a Hojlund extension as he has dedicated threads of his own that this stuff should be in.
What's his injury record like? Felt like last season he was out injured a lot.
It’s not really classic. Rather generic and typical. Sesko is the Isak-adjacent now; similar ability and potential path. These things are common and happen with every generation.
It’s not just the goals his all round play is magnificent. Top player
Because as many posters pointed out, he was far from being a sure thing.
If we bought him back then Im far from certain that he would be at this level today without any criticism.
Hojlund scored 15+ goals in his first season in a highly dysfunctional team and he’s being crucified this year.
It’s easy in hindsight to say « why didn’t we buy him » when it literally took him 16 months to perform whilst being under absolutely no scrutiny or pressure at Newcastle.