The top two centre-forwards in the Premier League go head-to-head at the Etihad Stadium tomorrow afternoon with Haaland’s Manchester City taking on Isak’s Newcastle United.
Haaland has long been regarded as the leading number nine in world football, and while Manchester City’s collective fortunes might have declined this season, the Norwegian remains as potent as ever, having scored 27 goals in 34 games in all competitions this season.
Isak’s statistics come close to matching him, though – Newcastle’s leading scorer has claimed 19 goals from 28 outings – and with the 25-year-old arguably boasting a stronger all-round game than Haaland, Howe is adamant he would not be swapping his own goalscoring talisman for his fellow Scandinavian.
“I’m sure Pep would give the same answer (about his own player), but I love working with Alex and I wouldn’t swap him for anyone,” said Howe, when asked who he would choose in a straight choice between the two centre-forwards. “We’ve got a good relationship and he’s got a good relationship with his team-mates.
“We’ve tried to help him by moulding our style of play to suit his game. I really respect Erling, obviously, and what he’s done in his career is unbelievable, but we really love Alex.”
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Isak’s form has been integral to Newcastle’s performance level this season, with the Swede having developed into the perfect all-round striker in the last year or so.
He has always been technically excellent, with his dribbling ability and high cruising speed a key part of his game. This season, though, he has become much more of a penalty-box predator while also embracing the kind of high-pressing, defensive work that is a key demand of Howe’s, but that does not necessarily sit so easily with Haaland.
“I think he (Isak) has added another dimension to his play,” said Howe. “That is something we have tried to focus on with him. He has many qualities, the winger comment that I’ve made, he played wide left for us many times when he first arrived, so he has the ability to play in different positions.
“When you have those qualities, sometimes you can find yourself out of the key areas, the goalscoring areas through the work you have done previously. It has been great to see him score those (poacher’s) goals this year, those goals in the six-yard box.
“They look like simple goals and the final finish is, but for him to end up in that position, that’s the hallmark of a great striker. Like the goal Callum Wilson scored last weekend (at Birmingham), they may look scruffy, but from the player’s perspective and mine, they are worth their weight in gold.”
Whatever happens in terms of European qualification this season, Newcastle will face a major battle to hold on to Isak in the summer.
Arsenal, currently without a striker after Kai Havertz broke down during a warm-weather training camp in Dubai, have repeatedly been linked with a move for Isak, with their cheerleaders in the punditry world continuing to trumpet the Gunners’ cause.
Barcelona were linked with a potential summer move earlier this week, and while Champions League qualification would undoubtedly make it easier for Newcastle to hold on to Isak beyond the current campaign, the Magpies will almost certainly have to offer the striker a lucrative new contract if they want to keep him in the long term.
Such a move would have significant PSR implications, but Howe is in absolutely no doubt as to the importance of keeping Isak at the club.
“I think there’s a lot more to come from Alex,” he said. “There’s so many different areas and aspects of the game that you can take your game now, with the analysis we have available at our fingertips. Our job, my job, the coaching team’s job, is to push Alex now to do even better.
“I think we have to try to keep our best players at the club. I think that’s crucial to our short-term success and our long-term success, so sitting here as the manager of the football club, I’d be saying we need to keep the group together and need to add the other way.
“We haven’t added (to the first team) in a long time in various transfer windows, for the reasons we’ve all discussed. But we need to move the team forward and we can’t lose our best players.”
