I'm a Newcastle icon and banged in goals for fun – Erling Haaland is no Alexander Isak
by Fasika Zelealem · ChronicleLiveAndy Cole believes that Alexander Isak has much more to his finishing repertoire than Erling Haaland.
The Newcastle striker is fresh off playing a starring role in the Magpies' 2-1 triumph over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday. Isak, 25, scored the second of his side's goals, following Dan Burn's first half opener, as the Reds' could only manage a consolation goal in stoppage time through substitute Federico Chiesa.
Eddie Howe's men hung on for the final few minutes to capture Newcastle's first major trophy since 1969 and first domestic trophy in 70 years. It was Isak's third major honour of his career and first since claiming the Copa del Rey with Real Sociedad in 2020.
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The Sweden international's 23rd goal of the season means he's now two goals away from his entire tally last season across all competitions. It's been a glittering campaign for the forward who has established himself alongside the Manchester City superstar as the premier strikers in European football.
Cole - who scored 68 goals in 84 games for Newcastle - knows a thing or two about finishing and broke down the differences between the two goalscorers. The Premier League's fourth all-time scorer said that while Haaland is ruthless in the six-yard box, he simply doesn't possess the variety of finishes Isak is capable of perfecting.
"I look at Isak, he can go and get it short, run at people and come up the wide areas, he gets all kinds of finishes," Cole said. "Haaland is an individual that is a six-yard predator. Whatever Pep says to him, that's exactly what he does. He does his job. And if you [compare] his goals to Isak's goals, it's totally different."
The future of Newcastle's star man will certainly be among the hottest topics of the summer transfer window. Despite links to Liverpool and Arsenal, Alan Shearer remained insistent that his former side have no reason to even think about cashing in on the striker.
During a recent episode of The Rest Is Football podcast, the Magpies' record goalscorer was asked by Gary Lineker on what he thinks Isak was worth as he replied: "They can be linked all they want. Why would you sell him? Why would Newcastle even contemplate selling him?"
While Lineker argued: "[Newcastle] could build a team for £150m, whatever it would be", Shearer doubled down in his stance as he said: "You might just get [Isak’s] left foot for £150m!"