Andrew Musgrove has claimed on the Everything is Black and White podcast that he’s still unsure as to what Alexander Isak’s best position for Newcastle United will be.
It came as quite the shock when Newcastle lodged a successful club-record bid to bring Isak to Tyneside in the summer, as earlier in the window, it had been reported that the Magpies had walked away from such a deal because of the finances.
Isak has made an immediate impact on Tyneside, having been handed a starting role through the middle in the absence of Callum Wilson, so when he does indeed return, it will be interesting to see how Eddie Howe gets them both in the starting lineup.
Musgrove has admitted that he’s not sure if playing Isak through the middle is the best place for him to thrive.
He said: “I felt at times, he was dropping deep, Isak, and at times he was coming off the left, and we know there’s a bit of a discussion about whether he is maybe better coming off the left and what that holds for either Almiron, Fraser, Saint-Maximin when he’s fit.
Where is Isak's best position?
Striker?
Left winger?
“Because we saw against Liverpool as well, he was getting the ball kind of out to the left and running in, and the defence couldn’t really handle him – we saw that against Palace on a few occasions as well.”
TIF Thoughts on Isak’s best position…
Isak has played the majority of his career through the middle and appeared to thrive on that during his time at Real Sociedad, and the early signs on Tyneside are that he will do the same in the Premier League with one goal in his first two games.
However, Callum Wilson is the club’s number nine and has finished as the top scorer each season he’s been with the club, so when fit, it’s natural to assume Eddie Howe will deploy him as the side’s main focal point through the middle.
Therefore, questions need to be answered as to what Isak’s best position is, because PIF won’t want to see their big-money summer signing shoehorned into different positions every game. They would rather see that he was a good investment and that Howe has a plan on how to utilise Wilson, Isak and Allan Saint-Maximin in the same team.