Newcastle United’s ‘emergency’ striker plan revealed amid Alexander Isak setback and Man Utd cup clash

Newcastle United are just one game away from another appearance in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, however, standing in their way are the team that beat them in last season’s final at Wembley. Wins at Old Trafford have been very few and far between for the Magpies in recent times and whilst they will head to Manchester full of confidence they can defeat Erik ten Hag’s side, they will likely do so without a recognised striker.

Alexander Isak’s injury problems and a need to manage Callum Wilson’s minutes mean that Eddie Howe has a big call to make about who will lead the line at Old Trafford. Although there doesn’t seem to be a clear solution for Howe, speaking ahead of the trip to Old Trafford, he was clear that he had options to choose from.

Howe said: “That was one of the reasons for signing Anthony [Gordon], who can play as a centre-forward, which he did for England at the Euros and did a great job. There are others - Harvey [Barnes] can play up there, although we don’t have him at the moment. Joelinton was also signed as a centre-forward, although we’ve moved his position. 

“The trouble is, you’re sort of alluding to signing a third striker. We just didn’t have the resources to do that. You can only go with the information you have at the time. As much as you can have a crystal ball and try to predict what will happen, that is part of our job as well, you only have a certain amount of resources and you have to make the decisions you’re faced with at the time.”

Gordon was named as Player of the Tournament during England’s triumph in the Under-21’s European Championships during the summer as he led the line for Lee Carsley’s side. As Howe has alluded to, the former Everton man may be asked to fill that role against the Red Devils.

Isak, meanwhile, is facing another few weeks on the sidelines after he suffered a recurrence of a groin injury during the defeat to Borussia Dortmund. Newcastle’s Premier League home match against Chelsea on Saturday 28 October is looking like a realistic return date for the 24-year-old.