Newcastle ‘braced for Arsenal, spur bids for £100m-rated star’

Newcastle United are reportedly braced to receive big-money offers from Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur for striker Alexander Isak this summer.

The 24-year-old has established himself as a star player for the Magpies since joining from Real Sociedad for a club-record £63m in the summer of 2022.

Isak has scored 28 goals in 58 appearances for Newcastle across all competitions, including 18 strikes in 31 games so far this season.

The Sweden international increased his Premier League goal tally for the current campaign to 14 after netting two penalties in Newcastle’s thrilling 4-3 comeback victory over West Ham United last weekend.

Isak is under contract at St James’ Park until June 2028, but the striker has been tipped to potentially seek pastures new this summer amid interest from other Premier League clubs, most notably Arsenal and Spurs.

Eddie Howe determined to keep hold of “outstanding talent” Isak

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe was recently questioned about the future of Isak and insisted that he and the club have no plans to part ways with the striker any time soon.

“[Isak] was excellent (against West Ham),” Howe told reporters after Saturday’s win. “He didn’t score in open play but his two penalties were outstanding and his general play was very good. His link play, his athleticism, he looked in a really good place.

“He’s an outstanding talent and no one connected with Newcastle would want to lose him.”

However, Isak himself recently refused to rule out a possible summer exit from Newcastle, stating that “if things show up, things can happen”.

Whether Newcastle can afford to keep hold of Isak remains to be seen, as the club’s CEO Darren Eales admitted earlier this year that the Magpies may be forced to sell some of their key players in order to avoid breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules and generate funds for new signings.

Arsenal, Tottenham to battle for Isak this summer?

According to The Sun, Newcastle are prepared for North London duo Arsenal and Tottenham to launch £100m moves for Isak this summer.

It is thought that a huge offer from clubs in the Champions League – a competition both the Gunners and Spurs could be competing in next season – will be hard to ignore for the Magpies, especially if they fail to qualify for European competition altogether.

Arsenal are said to be ‘long-term admirers’ of Isak, with Mikel Arteta believed to be prioritising the addition of a new centre-forward ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.

The likes of Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres and Brentford’s Ivan Toney are other names on the Gunners’ radar, the latter of whom has also attracted interest from Tottenham.

After selling Harry Kane last summer and opting against recruiting a like-for-like replacement, Spurs are now understood to be drawing up plans to sign a new striker this summer, with Isak among their targets along with Feyenoord’s Santiago Gimenez.