Arsenal told to ‘break bank’ (and British transfer record) for striker ‘coaxed’ into form
Arsenal will need to pay Newcastle United a record £150m to sign Alexander Isak after the ‘withdrawn’ striker was ‘coaxed’ into form by series of one-to-one chats with Eddie Howe.
The Telegraph claim that is the price tag on the head of the Swede in the middle of a season which has seen him score 12 Premier League goals as Newcastle United have climbed to fifth in the Premier League table.
He has now scored a total of 48 goals in 87 games for Newcastle since joining from Real Sociedad.
That £150m price tag would make him the third most expensive player in football history behind Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, though he missed out on the top scorers of 2024 list by one goal.
But Paul Merson clearly thinks he is worth the money, telling Sky Sports: “If I was Arsenal and I had the money, I would go and buy Alexander Isak. I would break the bank for him.
“I think he is the best of the best. I think he takes Arsenal to another level. I am looking at the all-round picture and next season as well.
“I think that if they can get hold of Isak, who I think is the best in the business at the moment, I think that will be a massive coup for Arsenal. The way Arsenal play, I would have to go with Alexander Isak [over Erling Haaland].
“They have got a lot of build-up play and they want the forwards to join in.”
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Arsenal are also being strongly linked with Dusan Vlahovic, who has scored 12 goals this season for Juventus and would be available at around a third of the price.
Asked about his supposed £150m price tag, Isak said: “No, it doesn’t really faze me too much. I think that’s more for you guys and for fans to talk about.
“I’m in the middle of the season and I think it’s going really well for me and the team, so, you know, all my focus is here and I’m really happy with how things are going. My focus is on the pitch.”
Isak started the season looking a little rusty and scored just one goal in his first seven games before a run of extraordinary form culminating in his performance against Manchester United on Monday night.
According to the Telegraph, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe took it upon himself to find out what was troubling the Swede.
‘Behind the scenes, Howe and his coaching staff knew something was not right with Isak. They could see he was not playing well, but they have coaxed him back, as a person and then as a player.
‘Howe holds regular one-on-one meetings, but he devoted special attention to Isak. He needed to know what was going on inside his head and he needed the player to be honest with him, too.’
Isak is described as ‘a gentle soul, a deep thinker, reserved and sometimes withdrawn’ and the report claims he has never indicated to the club that he wants to leave.
