Newcastle Need Striker But Is There Any Way Back For Isak After Chant?

Geordies tin make a batch of noise.

They surely did astatine Villa Park pursuing Newcastle United's goalless tie connected nan opening day.

As Eddie Howe and his players walked backmost to nan tunnel, nan distant extremity turned their attraction to a high-profile absentee for nan first time.

Alexander Isak scored what proved to beryllium nan decisive extremity arsenic Newcastle lifted a first awesome home trophy successful 70 years past season. The Swede is 1 of nan champion strikers successful nan world. He moreover has a chant celebrating his onslaught successful nan Wear-Tyne derby.

But Isak remains wished to subordinate Liverpool and nan striker has not kicked a shot for nan Magpies since May.

Although it takes a batch for Newcastle fans to turn, his bequest has agelong been tarnished.

As good arsenic calling Isak "greedy" aft their side's stalemate against 10-man Aston Villa, nan travelling support moreover came up pinch a caller opus for their erstwhile beloved frontman.

"We don't attraction astir Isak, he don't attraction astir me," nan fans roared arsenic they near nan stadium. "All we attraction about, is NUFC."

Isak intelligibly has a batch of bridges to rebuild if he is to ever correspond nan nine again.

"You've sewage a feline who's connected 100K-a-week plus, not playing, and you've sewage nan normal instrumentality paying £60-£70 for a summons each week expecting him to beryllium successful nan team," Newcastle's all-time starring scorer Alan Shearer told BBC 5 Live. "That is why it hurts them truthful much.

"There is nary loyalty [in football] - clubs look aft themselves and players look aft themselves, but there's a measurement of doing things. The measurement that Alex is doing this astatine nan infinitesimal is not nan correct way.

"Liverpool person sewage into his supplier and to connection £110m is alternatively belittling erstwhile you person midfielders going for £105m. They cognize they aren't going to get Isak for £110m.

"You've sewage a feline who played a immense portion successful 1 of Newcastle's champion seasons ever, winning nan club's first trophy for 70 years, qualifying again for nan Champions League. Yet pinch 3 years near connected his statement he says he doesn't want to play present anymore."

Newcastle caput coach Howe said nan distant extremity were "very free" to make their feelings known astir nan subordinate aft nan game, but he stressed successful nan aforesaid post-match news convention that nan doorway remains unfastened for Isak to beryllium reintegrated.

He reiterated that it is down to Isak to "decide what he wants to do" arsenic nan striker continues to train distant from nan group.

Howes ideally wants a swift solution - and understandably so.

There is nary uncertainty that Isak's absence overshadowed Newcastle's preparations for nan caller run fixed his erstwhile value to nan side.

For context, Newcastle grounded to people from unfastened play aliases triumph immoderate of nan 4 top-flight fixtures that Isak missed past season.

Isak was straight progressive successful much than 40% of Newcastle's full convention goals - scoring 33.8% of them - while nary different subordinate connected nan club's books deed double figures successful 2024-25.

Yet this saga appears to person brought a tight-knit group moreover person together pursuing nan visitors' committed show connected Saturday.

"Everyone that stepped connected nan transportation coming showed that they wanted to beryllium present and wanted to play well," Howe said. "They tried to definitive their champion performance. There was nary motion of immoderate psychological weakness successful our performance, which is really pleasing.

"It's very easy to let our standards to driblet aliases our attraction to drift for a 2nd but we didn't. To travel and minimise them to nan chances that they had was a existent motion of protect solidity, which is great.

"I would alternatively look astatine nan positives, while acknowledging location was a spread successful our performance. We didn't return that 1 chance that we needed to."

And location lies nan communicative of nan game. Newcastle had 16 shots connected Saturday, but nan visitors only mustered 3 connected target.

Anthony Elanga had a immense opportunity wrong a mates of minutes aft being played done connected goal, but nan forward's changeable was beaten distant by Aston Villa goalkeeper Marco Bizot.

Gordon, meanwhile, saw a header sail complete nan barroom earlier nan makeshift striker had an effort from region pushed behind.

Newcastle whitethorn person created those chances successful nan opening 4th of an hour, but it was arsenic adjacent arsenic nan visitors came to scoring - moreover aft Ezri Konsa was sent disconnected midway done nan 2nd half.

That is not a flimsy connected Gordon, though, who forced Konsa's reddish paper aft nan Aston Villa defender pulled nan accelerated England world back.

It was alternatively telling that Gordon dropped to nan turf successful exhaustion arsenic overmuch arsenic vexation astatine full-time, earlier Joelinton helped his team-mate up.

But it is not mislaid connected anyone down nan scenes that Newcastle request a striker - irrespective of nan Isak situation.

No wonderment nan nine stay willing successful signing Brentford prima Yoane Wissa.

Goalscorers are ever successful demand, of course, but Newcastle person faced peculiarly aggravated title this summer.

Newcastle missed retired connected Benjamin Sesko, Hugo Ekitike and Joao Pedro, who joined Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea respectively.

Howe did not disguise nan truth he would "like much strikers to prime from", but securing nan correct subordinate has proved a existent challenge.

"It seems for illustration nan striker marketplace gets tighter each year," he said. "Maybe that's because we person continued to turn arsenic a team.

"There's not galore players of that calibre to make america amended and erstwhile they're perchance disposable nan value seems to spell up, and past you are dealt different challenges for illustration PSR [profit and sustainability regulations], really overmuch you walk successful nan window, nan semipermanent effects if you do nan transfer.

"It is not arsenic clear arsenic going retired and getting immoderate player. They person sewage to fresh nan team, make america amended and beryllium affordable. That's not a ample group of players."

Time will show if Newcastle negociate to find 1 - and if location is immoderate measurement backmost for Isak.