Newcastle United will 'regret' Alexander Isak transfer failure as striker prepares to return
A former Newcastle United loan star has spoken about a decision taken by his old club.
Former Premier League striker Louis Saha believes Newcastle United could miss out on a place in next season’s Champions League because of their failure to secure an alternative option to top goalscorer Alexander Isak.
The Sweden international has been an overwhelming success since joining the Magpies in a club record £63m deal from La Liga side Real Sociedad in August 2022. After hitting double figures to help Eddie Howe’s side secure qualification to the Champions League during his first season on Tyneside, Isak enjoyed the most productive season of his career last time out as he plundered his way to 25 goals in 40 games in all competitions.
Isak kicked off the current season with one goal and one assist in his first three games as the Magpies secured home wins against Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur either side of a somewhat fortunate draw at Bournemouth.
However, Isak has missed Premier League draws with Manchester City and Everton and the Carabao Cup win against AFC Wimbledon with a broken toe that also led to the striker missing Sweden’s Nations League double header against Slovakia and Estonia over the last week. There are high hopes Isak could return to contention when Newcastle host Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday and Magpies boss Howe is hopeful he could get a double boost at the top end of the pitch as Callum Wilson also closes on a return.
Their absence has led to Anthony Gordon being pressed into the lead role in United’s attack and there is a belief Newcastle could look to add another striker to their squad over the next two transfer windows. Former Manchester United and Fulham striker Saha, who spent a short loan spell at St James Park in the late 1990s, believes the Magpies could regret not already making a move in the transfer market as they look to qualify for Europe this season.
He said: “Newcastle will regret not signing a back-up to Alexander Isak in the summer because it’s such a big club. The expectation from fans and pundits are high and if a team is reliant on one or two players, they’ll have difficulty (if they get injured) because the bench isn’t that strong and that’s the case with Newcastle. They have good players like Anthony Gordon who can replace Isak but they’re still missing an element.
“When you want to be in the top five, you need those types of players, even if they’re on the bench. We’ve seen it at Liverpool with Diogo Jota and Darwín Núñez, where they come on and score. That’s where Newcastle are right now if they want to chase for a Champions League spot.”