Charlie Bennett talks through why Alexander Isak, in his eyes, is the best striker he's ever seen at Newcastle United - and why most Premier League fans would pick the Sweden international over any other right now.
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00:00Hello everybody, welcome to today's Newcastle United roundup. I know it's been a little while since I've done one of these, but safe to say we've had some technical difficulties, but we're back with a bang.
00:11And what better way to start than to talk about last night's win against Wolves. You know, Newcastle made it nine wins in a row in the Premier League. It's a club record. Alexander Isak is on fire.
00:22He made it eight Premier League games in a row with a goal. He's closing in on Jamie Vardy's record. And you've got to think, with Bournemouth, Southampton and Fulham coming up next, he's got a real chance of at least equaling Jamie Vardy's 11 Premier League games in a row.
00:37And I was thinking, this is probably a question posed more to people of my age. I'm 27 years old, born in 1997. My sort of era, you know, we miss the entertainers era. We've only really seen the back end of Alan Shearer.
00:53You know, for somebody of a similar age to me, I was 10 when Mike Ashley bought the club. You haven't really had much to shout about, so it made us think, how good is Alexander Isak? Is he the best player I've seen play for Newcastle United?
01:08Considering Alan Shearer was on the latter stage of his career, I didn't really see him in his pomp. I think he's in with a shout. He's got to be up there. Talk of £150 million a month ago, I think you can add an extra £20 million on that now. He is the best striker in the Premier League right now.
01:29I think even a Newcastle fan, no bias aside, any Premier League fan would probably take him over Erling Haaland right now. He's his direct competitor. It's not just his finishing. You know, you see a natural striker's goal. Yes, he got a little bit lucky with the first one last night. The second one was a proper striker's goal in between the two posts inside the penalty area.
01:54But it is all-round play, you know. If you're comparing Isak and Haaland as a two, which one would you rather take? For Newcastle, Erling Haaland, he's going to be inside the penalty area. You probably do take Haaland. But for the all-round player, I mean, you've seen the assist for Anthony Gordon last night. You know, coming out wide, dropping deep, beating the man, as well as the goal-scoring ability. For me right now, you're taking Alexander Isak. I think he's the man for Newcastle right now.
02:24Another big story coming from St. James' Park. Could Miguel Almoan have played his last game for Newcastle last night? Now, if you rewind to a year ago, you know, the Saudi Pro League team, Al-Shabaab, it looked like they were expressing interest. Then you go to the summer Sean FC was about to return to America. Well, now the story really looks like it's got legs. It's not going to be Sean FC. You know, all noises are suggesting that it's going to be Atlanta United.
02:50The team that Newcastle stumped up £21 million a few years ago to make him a club record signing. Now, just a word on Almoan. Yes, in recent times, he hasn't. I think the squad, the team, Newcastle's project sort of surpassed him. He's 30 years old now. He's been one of them players. He does define the term, we don't want a club that wins, we want a club that tries. Is he the best player that's ever played for Newcastle? Absolutely not.
03:16Does he frustrate? Yes. A lot of the times, you know, there's been numerous occasions where, you know, he's been levelled at and then he hasn't got much of a right foot or whatever the case may be, no end product. But one thing you can't fault with Almoan is his graft. You know, he's been a tireless worker. He's always got that smile on his dial. So I come back to it. He personifies that phrase. Newcastle will, if he were to leave, I think Newcastle fans would wish him well.
03:44Obviously, it would free up some of the PSR situation. The word is that it would be about £11 million. Now, if Almoan were to leave, it would move the needle a little bit on PSR. You know, word is that he's going to, the fee's going to be about £11 million. Obviously, saying that, that look would have contracted about two years ago after his purple patch, a report of £60,000 a week. And for just one Premier League appearance this season, when the offer comes in, Newcastle have got to look at it, you know.
04:12Like I said, he's on the wrong side of 30. Jacob Murphy's in the form of his life. The gamble for Newcastle is obviously, what do they do with that? Does that free up enough funds, PSR-wise, on the balance sheet to go and sign a replacement? In an ideal world, they'd be looking at a right winger. They've needed one since before the takeover. It's the only position they have not signed since Piff came in. Yes, they signed Ian Coomba midday, but he arrived as a youth player.
04:38Jacob Murphy's proven his worth in the past few weeks or so, but you would still think that fund free of Gordon Isak, if they had somebody of that level on the right-hand side, with Murphy able to come in as a back-up player, that would be the dream scenario for Newcastle fans.
04:54So yes, Miguel Alboron, it's looking like he's inching towards a Newcastle exit. And yes, if you look at the figures, they're not great. Just six Premier League assists in six years or so. Not great at all, but I think he'll be remembered for his moments.
05:12You know, his purple patch, that goal against PSG, and yes, his beaming smile and his relentless running on the wing. So yes, all the best to Miguel Alboron if that does come out. There's nothing finalised yet.
05:26It's always here at Newcastle World, we'll keep you posted throughout the January transfer window, feel free to follow the page. Follow myself, Charlie Bennett, follow my colleagues, Liam Kendy, Jordan Cronin, and yes, obviously that Alboron one is the big story at the minute. Does that free up space for potential incomers? We'll see, we'll keep you posted all the way. So yes, cheers for now everybody.