Newcastle United issue official Alexander Isak statement - Alan Shearer loves it

After Jan Bednarek headed Southampton into the lead, a quickfire double from Isak put Newcastle in front before Sandro Tonali made it 3-1 in the second half. Isak’s brace took him clear of Callum Wilson as Newcastle’s outright second all-time leading Premier League goalscorer behind Alan Shearer.

Though Isak’s 48 Premier League goals still leave him 100 shy of Shearer in the top flight.

Still, Shearer was quick to praise the striker on social media following his second goal at St Mary’s.

“Oh man, that touch and finish from Isak,” Shearer posted on X.

Newcastle United’s official account then posted: “YOU CAN'T STOP ALEXANDER ISAK!”

Shearer quote-tweeted the post, giving Isak his seal of approval once again by simply using the ‘clapping emoji’ rather than any words.

Isak’s 19 goals in 25 games so far this season put him on course to break Shearer’s 21st century record for Newcastle of scoring 28 goals for the club in a single season. Like Shearer, Isak joined Newcastle for a club-record transfer fee and has been in prolific form over the past two seasons.

“I think naturally the goals have started to come,” Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe said on Isak. “I think there was no doubting his ability. When I saw him play at [Real] Sociedad, the last season there, he didn't score a huge amount of goals.

“But I could see in his general play that he was an outstanding footballer. So, the only question really was, could he score again? Because he'd scored a lot the previous season.

“I think pretty much since day one, he's been a regular scorer for us, and that's no doubt helped his self-belief. His general confidence when he enters the pitch seems really high at the moment, and that's not a given.

“You have to earn that through your training. He's been outstanding this year, but I think the challenge for him is to continue to get better.”

Next up for Newcastle is Fulham at St James’ Park in the Premier League on Saturday (3pm kick-off). After that, they host Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at St James’ Park looking to progress with a 2-0 lead from the away fixture.