Alexander Isak vultures circle but Newcastle confident of keeping prized possession

Eddie Howe has challenged striker Alexander Isak to prove he deserves a new contract after insisting there is no rush to reward him with a lucrative new deal.

Howe said he was relaxed about the situation as Isak has almost four years remaining on the contract he signed when he became Newcastle’s record signing in a £63million move from Real Sociedad in August 2022.

The Newcastle manager also reassured supporters that talks between the club and Isak’s representatives will be “ongoing” moving forward, adding there was no “short-term issue” as he is contracted to the club until 2028.

But Howe, who said he would be hesitant to swap the 25-year-old for any striker in world football, knows Newcastle need to prove they can match the ambitions of their best players, which means winning trophies and qualifying for European competitions again.

“How I feel about it is I want Alex to be focused on his football, whatever that looks like,” said Howe, ahead of Sunday’s tricky trip to Chelsea. “Whether that is him saying, ‘I’m fine, I’m good, I’ve got four years left on my contract, I’m happy at the football club and I just want to play my best football.’ That is the ideal world.

“But, of course, nothing in football is straightforward, so I’m sure there will be ongoing discussions between Alex, his representatives and the football club.

“But my main job at the moment – we are outside of a transfer window – is just to get Alex fit and playing his best football, enjoying his best football and scoring goals.”

Asked if people need to relax about the situation given fresh speculation that Arsenal could make a bid for Isak in the summer, Howe replied: “Absolutely, there will be ongoing talks like I’ve said. But Alex can only help his situation by playing well.

“He is an outstanding talent, he really is. He can do everything, I’ve said that many times. He has got this incredible natural ability. Really good with the ball, really intelligent and a deadly goalscorer when he is at his absolute best.

“I would be very hesitant to swap him for anybody in world football, but of course we haven’t quite seen that devastating, all-round game so far this season.

“For me that’s been down to a couple of niggly injuries that keep setting him back when he looks like he is ready to explode.

“He is getting close to that prime physical condition so this will be a big week for him with three big games coming up.”

Analysis: Newcastle’s PSR problem

Newcastle do have a financial issue when it comes to keeping all their best players. One of the reasons they are not in a rush to offer Isak – who has scored 32 goals in 58 Premier League appearances – an improved deal is because he is already one of the club’s top earners.

To increase his wages – which are already around £150,000-a-week – would potentially cause them issues with Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

“Every decision we make as a football club has a knock-on effect,” Howe added. “For contract renewals, there is a knock-on effect for PSR and we have to make sure we don’t put ourselves in a position where we can’t act freely in the transfer windows because of what we have done with individual player contracts.”

That means there are clubs who would be able to offer Isak a big pay rise if he did leave St James’ Park and Isak’s representatives have relayed this information to their client.

Newcastle are not happy about that, but also realise there is little they can do to stop it happening when you have a player who is being watched by a host of rival clubs at home and abroad.

Crucially, though, they have not received a single bid for the 25-year-old and, although there was talk of Arsenal’s interest earlier this year, Telegraph Sport understands Isak was not under consideration by them over the summer.

The only enquiry came from Chelsea, back in June, when Newcastle were struggling to comply with PSR, and was swiftly ended when they were quoted a fee of more than £120 million.

Even if Isak does not sign an extension before the end of the season, the fact he still has three years left means Newcastle are in a strong position and will set an asking price in excess of £100m. That is likely to deter interest.

Sporting director Paul Mitchell is understood to be as relaxed about the Isak situation as Howe and, although there have been no fresh talks of a new deal since the summer, the plan is to revisit the subject towards the end of the season.

Crucially, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund are keen to secure Isak’s services for the long term and, privately, Howe has maintained that Isak is the player he would least like to lose from the squad.

Newcastle are well aware of the fact there is likely to be interest in a striker who finished second in the Premier League goalscoring chart last season behind Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, but are not currently worried.

Indeed, fresh reports in the media this week, linking the player with Arsenal, were described by one well-placed source as “a non-story” and that there is no internal issue over the contract talks.

Isak is settled on Tyneside, happy at the club and has given no indication to staff that he is unhappy or would like to leave.

But the interest in him is unlikely to go away and there is always a risk that, should Newcastle fail to qualify for the Champions League again this season, that a player of Isak’s talent and profile could become unsettled. This, though, is true of all Newcastle’s blue-chip brigade.