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Dan Ashworth replicated Kevin Keegan trick with £60m Newcastle United transfer decision

Every Geordie prays he will become Alexander The Great. That Newcastle's new £60m singing will join a parade of all-time icons snaking back over 130 years of existence for one of England's historic clubs.

Alexander Isak coming amongst us took my mind back to when I recently met United's director of sport Dan Ashworth, the new brain behind recruitment and development.

Ashworth was keen to hear of my 56 unbroken years on the Newcastle beat and inquired about my most uplifting moments as a Geordie believer.

READ MORE: Alexander Isak 'vision' talks planned as Newcastle signing offers exciting glimpse in training

I picked out the Entertainers, of course, who the current board would love to emulate more than 20 years on from their peak. Knowing how much the United of today required a striker I regaled Dan of the day Kevin Keegan stood on the steps just yards away from where we were talking and promised fans worried over his sale of Andy Cole: "Trust me and I will sign you the best."

Duly Keegan came up with first Les Ferdinand and then Alan Shearer. Promise kept twice over. Perhaps Ashworth and his transfer think tank have similarly responded to fan worry over the signing of a striker before the transfer market finally locks its door on all hope come Thursday night.

With Callum Wilson incapacitated, leaving the team vulnerable, United have fulfilled their promise by bringing in Isak at a whopping £60m just as they did Shearer at the then huge cost of £15m, a world record no less.

That the giant Swede should in time earn the right to walk in the footsteps of Shearer, Ferdinand and Cole would mean he had indeed become Alexander The Great!

However it must be stressed that Isak is a different sort of striker to these exalted line leaders. He is not just a scorer of goals but a linker of play who is as vital in build up as on the end of things. He will drift wide, play on the tramlines or tucked in behind when necessary to accommodate Wilson, and take part in open play more than the traditional English bulldog centre-forward.

Isak is more Roberto Firmino than Shearer. A few fans have shown passing concern at Isak's toothpick physique. Well no one was more skinny than Peter Crouch, yet he played for top clubs Liverpool and Spurs, winning 42 England caps and scoring 22 international goals. Then there was Nwankwo Kanu, a beautifully talented striker with Arsenal and Portsmouth who collected 86 international caps for Nigeria.

Isak's debut could hardly come at a more difficult place than Anfield with Liverpool on cloud nine having dismantled an admittedly shocking Bournemouth. An unbeaten Newcastle will provide sterner resistance, no question, but it will still have to be of top quality.

To meet such a challenge any team wants all its best players of course as against Manchester City which means Bruno Guimaraes, Allan Saint-Maximin and Callum Wilson as well as Isak. However, Bruno looks as though he will sit next to Wilson on the sidelines which would leave United with a heavy burden to carry.

Just a thought but faced with a limited midfield may there just be a place in the starting line up sometime over the next two games against Liverpool and Crystal Palace up here on Saturday for young Elliot Anderson to be rewarded?

The boy is now a man and a talented one. For the future? Certainly but maybe for the present as well. United, like Elliot, have made massive strides in the shortest space of time. When managers were being touted around the big jobs Eddie Howe was viewed by many as third in a three horse race behind former superstar players Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.

Not any more. Howe has flourished while Gerrard at Aston Villa and Lampard at Everton are struggling badly. Indeed all talk surrounding them now is about the possibility of the sack.

Having been truly wonderful against Man City's champions the Magpies must now mix it with England's other great side of recent seasons. Who would settle for another 3-3? Me for one!

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