Alexander Isak is the striker the Premier League’s top clubs forgot about – and it may come back to haunt at least three of them as they risk missing out on Champions League football next season at the expense of the team that did sign him – Newcastle United.
On a recent TV broadcast, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp commented that Isak ‘could look up to and learn from Callum Wilson’ after Newcastle’s 5-1 win against West Ham United, during which Isak came off the bench to score.
While perhaps unintentional and harmless enough, the comments were a sign of how little the highly-paid Sky pundit Redknapp must know about Sweden’s hot shot international forward. While no doubt a respectable player with an impressive career to date, at 31 years old Callum Wilson has played for Coventry, Bournemouth and Newcastle, has six caps for England and has never played in Europe.
Isak by contrast has played football in five different countries, has 39 caps for Sweden, was their main striker at a major international tournament, Euro 2020, has won trophies in Spain and Germany and has played in both the Europa League and, briefly, Champions League. And he is still only 23.
When it comes to who is learning from who, you wonder if Redknapp’s comments weren’t just a tiny bit ignorant of Isak’s career so far.
Redknapp’s portrayal of Isak as some young inexperienced kid sat wide-eyed in the Newcastle dressing room, soaking it all in and just happy to be in the Premier League around these big stars is wide of the mark. But it does offer insight into Isak’s profile among an English audience that is largely unaware of his career so far.
Those that have followed his progress from AIK to St. James’ Park however won’t be as surprised as Redknapp to see Isak emerge as one of the Premier League’s most in-form forwards. Given his talent, ability and, importantly, self-confidence, this moment has been a long time coming.
Signed for €63 million from Real Sociedad last summer, Isak is rapidly becoming a household name for English football fans after a string of superb recent performances for Newcastle United.
The forward has eight goals in just 13 Premier League appearances and has played a key role in the Toon Army’s run of five consecutive wins as they look to secure a place in the top four and next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Since returning from a hamstring injury that stalled Isak’s early progress in England the 23-year-old has been in red hot form. He’s scored five goals in his last five games. He hit the winner against Wolves, two against Nottingham Forest – including a last minute ice cool penalty to win the game – a goal off the bench in the 5-1 thrashing of West Ham United and another crucial winner in a 2-1 win against Brentford.
Isak is becoming so popular up on Tyneside that some fans have even started taking Sweden flags to Newcastle’s matches – or flags with ‘Isak’ emblazoned across them in yellow and blue, in the style of the famous Swedish brand Ikea’s logo.
His manager Eddie Howe is similarly delighted. “He’s a different player to anyone that we have in the squad,” Howe commented after the win against Wolves. “He’s got really good versatility to his game, he can do a bit of everything which is a great asset for us to have in our front line. I think he brings a different dimension.”
“I still enjoy watching his goal (against Wolves) a week after.”
Isak scored on his debut for Newcastle and has led the line brilliantly since his return to fitness. His pressure penalty against Nottingham Forest summed up his ability to stay calm under pressure and he has adapted to life in the Premier League almost instantly, as demonstrated when he scored in his first ever Premier League game back in August – against Liverpool at Anfield of all places.
But the Swedish star is no stranger to pressure.
Thrown into AIK’s first team at just 16 years of age Isak scored eight goals in 19 appearances in his breakthrough year during the 2016 Allsvenskan season – two goals before his seventeenth birthday, two the day he turned 17 and four thereafter.
At Willem II he scored 14 goals in 18 games as a 19-year-old in the Dutch Eredivisie after a troubled spell at Borussia Dortmund where he saw little game time. At Real Sociedad he was leading the line as a 20-year-old, registering 44 goals in 132 appearances before his big money move to England.
He has been used to dealing with pressure and expectation from a young age and continues to do so at Newcastle.
In that respect, it was a surprise to see so few of the top Premier League clubs really make a concerted effort to sign Isak last summer. Manchester United needed a forward. Chelsea spent half a billion pounds and still have no main striker. He could quite easily have suited a team like Liverpool (at a cheaper price than Darwin Nunez) or Arsenal.
Their loss is Newcastle’s gain however. Isak keeps scoring. If he can maintain his form, fitness and focus and avoid any serious injuries it would not be a surprise if he becomes one of the Premier League’s best and most feared strikers in the years to come.
For now though, a place in next season’s Champions League will do just nicely for both Isak and Newcastle’s passionate, success-hungry fans.