3 weeks ago
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With Alexander Isak's departure from Newcastle now seemingly inevitable, Alan Shearer would have anticipated the Magpies securing another forward before green-lighting a move.
In a tale that has overshadowed the summer transfer window, Isak finally appears poised to bid farewell to St. James' Park for Liverpool on deadline day in a deal. The Swedish striker has been less than committed this season after expressing his desire to explore other opportunities.
Now, following a three-year stint in Tyneside that ended in acrimony, the striker is scheduled for his medical. Focus shifted to procuring replacements, with one already secured in the form of Nick Woltemade, who joined from Stuttgart last week.
The German netted 17 times in all competitions last year before being crowned Player of the Tournament at the U21 Euros. However, with Isak's impending departure, additional firepower was required, and Brentford's Yoane Wissa is set to join.
Yet, Shearer was surprised that a deal wasn't finalized before Isak was permitted to leave.
During a conversation with Gary Lineker on The Rest Is Football podcast, Shearer was questioned about the likelihood of Isak's departure. The England legend confessed he would be quite taken aback if Isak were to depart without another forward coming in.
"Newcastle haven't got one of the players that they want in," began Shearer, speaking before details emerged of Isak's impending move emerged late on Sunday. "I'd be surprised if Newcastle let him go without getting another forward in."
Nevertheless, this is precisely what occurred, with the 25-year-old's medical scheduled, and a six-year contract virtually finalized with Liverpool.
This heaped pressure on Eddie Howe and his colleagues to secure another player's signature, and they addressed Shearer's concern almost immediately with the imminent signing of Wissa.
During Isak's absence, youngster Will Osula had been tasked with carrying the goalscoring burden. While he did manage to find the net in the club's 3-2 loss to Liverpool last week, Shearer believed he isn't quite prepared to be that alternative striker.
"He is not ready to lead the line for Newcastle," continued Shearer. "Potential? Yes. Attitude? Absolutely. You can't fault his efforts and everything else, but he's not ready to lead Newcastle in the Champions League and going forward in the league to try and get in a top five or top six space.
"His time may come in the future, but he's not ready to start yet. Woltemade, I think he could be a really clever signing. But it also comes with a risk because ultimately, he's had seven or eight months playing good football.
"He has not scored a lot of goals and has not gotten great experience. Just under £70m. Newcastle, unfortunately, are always going to have to pay over the limit because there is a Saudi price now, and there might be an Isak price.
"Other clubs know that Newcastle are on the hunt for a forward, so they were always going to get stung with the price. It could turn out to be really smart signing, but it's a big, big ask for him to go in and lead the line as Newcastle's No. 9."
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