Alexander Isak increasingly looks like the closest player the Premier League has seen to Thierry Henry since the Arsenal legend joined Barcelona nearly two decades ago.
Isak is in the form of his life, scoring 14 goals since the start of December. Fittingly, it is the same number that adorns the back of his Newcastle United shirt and is still synonymous with the Gunners’ greatest player of at least the last 30 years.
That goalscoring run coincides with Arsenal amassing just 14 goals as a team since Boxing Day and the first of nine matches Bukayo Saka has missed after having hamstring surgery. Reports linking Isak with the Gunners are not abating in his absence, and here is the latest.
Contract negotiations’ update
Newcastle reportedly plans to restart contract negotiations with Isak once the season is over after pausing talks last year. By then, the striker will be halfway through the six-year contract signed when arriving from Real Sociedad in the 2022 summer transfer window.
The Telegraph reports that the extension would reward the player’s performances this season while protecting the club. Champions League qualification is also considered a factor in the outcome of those discussions after Newcastle missed out on playing in Europe this season.
However, Isak has reputedly told teammates that he is not considering leaving the club despite speculation surrounding his future. Sources are downplaying such distractions.
Record price tag
Newcastle reportedly value Isak at over £150m after quoting Chelsea a fee around that price when they enquired about the player during the summer transfer window last year. Any transfer worth around that figure would make it the third most expensive transfer ever behind the £200million and £163million that Paris Saint-Germain spent on Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, respectively, during the summers of 2017 and 2018.
The Telegraph reported late last year that the £150million valuation is still what Newcastle are sticking to. That would also break the British transfer record by over £40million, which Chelsea set when signing Enzo Fernandez for almost £107million two years ago.
Asked about the reported £150million price tag after Newcastle beat Manchester United late last year, Isak replied: “No, it doesn’t really faze me too much. I think that’s more for [the media] and fans to talk about.
“I’m in the middle of the season, and it’s going really well for me and the team, so, you know, all my focus is here. I’m really happy with how things are going. My focus is on the pitch.”
Isak also previously told Swedish publication Fotbal Skanaleni: “The only thing I can say is that a lot of information and rumours often come out. Much of what I read is not true.”
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