EXCLUSIVE. Newcastle cult hero: I see no reason why Alexander Isak would want to leave
Kenley Ward
Dailysports's expert
Legendary Newcastle defender Warren Barton shared his thoughts on the Magpies’ top scorer Alexander Isak in an exclusive interview with Dailysports.net.
What’s in the interview
- Alexander Isak is among the top five strikers in the world
- Alexander Isak and the greatness of Alan Shearer
- Should Isak leave Newcastle?
- Could Isak’s departure become a record-breaking transfer in football history?
Swedish striker Alexander Isak of Newcastle United has become one of the standout revelations of 2024 in the English Premier League. During the summer transfer window of 2022, the "Magpies" paid Real Sociedad 70 million euros for the forward.
This season, Isak has become the most talked-about figure in the league. Nearly all top clubs in Europe are in pursuit of one of the Premier League's top scorers. However, legendary Newcastle player Warren Barton believes that the Swede at St. James' Park could make history as one of the best players in the club's history.
“He's going to be the future number nine for the club as well," Warren Barton said in an exclusive interview with Dailysports. “As a striker, he is in the top five in the world - there is no doubt. You would put Mohamed Salah in there with the goals that he's scoring. Erling Haaland is having a difficult season, but he's in that conversation.”
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Warren Barton knows what he's talking about. The iconic Newcastle defender played 115 games over seven years alongside the great Alan Shearer and shared a room with another famous Premier League forward, Les Ferdinand, during their joint tenure at Newcastle.
Barton believes that Isak's style of play resembles that of Andy Cole and Les Ferdinand. Both dedicated two years of their playing careers to the "Magpies," scoring 149 and 187 goals respectively in the Premier League. The 25-year-old Swede still has a long way to go to reach those numbers. Currently, he has scored only 51 goals in the Premier League. Nevertheless, Alexander scores in almost every other match.
"Isak isn't far off, and what I love about him is that he's a mixture of an Andy Cole and Les Ferdinand.
"When gets it, he just wants to take people on, and Andy, when he got the chance, was so clinical. I've watched a load of his goals that he scored for Newcastle.
"You would think with Andy Cole, he was just like a poacher, but Andy was a top-class finisher and scored from all different angles, and Isak does that.
"So, he me reminds of him and Les because Les was willing to run in behind and had strength and composure," Barton notes.
However, Barton believes that the Swede still has a long way to go to reach Alan Shearer's greatness. But potentially, Isak could reach the level of a club legend.
The great Englishman dedicated ten years of his career to Newcastle and played his last official match for the "Magpies." During that time, he played over 400 matches and scored 206 goals. Isak's statistics for the team from St. James' Park are much more modest: 102 matches and 59 goals.
"Alan is on a different level, which is why he has a statute, but Isak is in the top five strikers in Europe at the moment.
He is a pleasure to watch, and when I speak to people at the club, they say he's great to be around as well, so that is always refreshing to hear.
My question back to you would be, why wouldn't he be?
What I would do is negotiate a new contract, and I would give him the number nine shirt. I would get Alan to present it to him in front of the fans in the stadium.
Strikers love to be loved, and he is no different to Alan and Les, so make him feel that he is part of the team.
He's playing well; he's going to be playing in Europe and for his country and for one of the biggest clubs in the Premier League, and he's competing and being successful, so I don't see any reason why he'd leave.”
According to Warren Barton, there's a risk that Isak might not fit into a new team if he leaves Newcastle. And these consequences could seriously affect his career.
"He could quite easily go to another club and be sitting on the bench sometimes.
Strikers want to break records and score goals, so I see no reason for him to leave because he's so happy, and I would make him the number nine.
Callum Wilson has done great, but things move on and go in different directions.
Les was my roommate, and we signed Alan Shearer. Kevin Keegan had to bang on the door and tell Les to give up the number nine shirt, but Les understood it, and Alan respected Les for that.
I think there is no reason why he would want to leave," Barton notes.
The other question is how much potential buyers will have to pay for Alexander Isak. The authoritative portal Transfermarkt estimates the Swedish striker's market value at 87 million pounds sterling. However, insiders over the past six months have never reported that any football club could acquire Isak for less than 100 million pounds.
Liverpool is named as one of the main contenders for Isak. Rumors suggest that the parties have even considered exchanging two of the Merseysiders' players for Isak as part of the deal. Arsenal is also ready to join the race. In Spain, they claim that Atletico Madrid and Barcelona are not opposed to acquiring the talented footballer: the Catalans seem to see Isak as a replacement for Robert Lewandowski.
""I don't think they want to sell him," Barton said in an exclusive interview with Dailysports. "Whatever conversations I've had with the football club and the owners have been there is a plan, and we are building something.
We don't need to sell because of money to build a new stadium. We are looking to build on the current squad.
If you do let him go, you've got to spend big money to get that sort of quality in.
We want to build on what we've got.
But in terms of a fee, we are looking at £150 to £200 million.
He's a special player, and goals are at a premium, so it's going to have to be close to a world record to sell him, but I don't see that happening.
Other clubs will try to tempt, and I hope I am right because it would be devastating to lose him because he's such a good player, but I don't see it being on the radar for the club.
Eddie Howe is looking to build on his blue-chip players, and Isak is one of those, but if it were to happen, it would be close to a world record because there would be a lot of emotion around him having to leave after winning his first trophywithus.”
Alexander Isak has been involved in almost half of Newcastle's goals in the current Premier League season (20 goals and 5 assists out of 52 team goals). It's not certain that the Swede will ever win the league's Golden Boot as long as Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland are around. However, his impact on the results is already significant: without Isak, it would be a very different Newcastle, and it's not certain the club would be competing for European places.
It will be very difficult for Newcastle to resist the offers the club will receive in the summer. At the very least, to relieve some pressure, the "Magpies" need to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Currently, they are only one point behind fifth place, so the task seems realistic. But will it help keep Isak at St. James' Park? Perhaps that's the main question of the coming months in the transfer market.
