Former England goalkeeper Ben Foster believes that even Newcastle United will have been pleasantly surprised by how well Alexander Isak has done since arriving at the club last summer.
The forward has scored ten goals in 20 Premier League appearances for the Magpies after making the move from Real Sociedad in August and has a particular knack for scoring winning goals, doing so against Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Brentford since the turn of the new year.
That gives Isak one of the best goals per 90 minutes returns in the division, and he could well have had an even bigger contribution had he not suffered thigh injury problems throughout the first half of the campaign.
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Foster said on the Premier League’s YouTube channel: “When I saw him physically, I just thought ‘I don’t know if you’re going to be up to the physicality of the Premier League’. You look at someone like Haaland, you can tell he’s big, broad, stocky, wants to mix it a little bit. I just thought ‘I don’t know if you’re going to be able to mix it in the Premier League’
“He’s took it by storm. To get a double digit return in terms of goals in his first season, for such a young lad, 23 years old, it’s been fantastic. In the second half of the season, we’ve really got to seeing what he’s about. Next season I’m pretty sure we are going to see a different player completely again.”
He added: “Even Newcastle would have been surprised at just how well he’s done as well, especially the second half of this season. His injuries are hopefully behind him, he’s found his feet, and he’s got a style of play which everyone just loves watching.”
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