I’ll keep on going – Alexander Isak eager to extend scoring streak for Newcastle | OneFootball

Alexander Isak is in no mood to relax as he attempts to extend his blistering run of form to fire Newcastle back into the Champions League.

The 25-year-old Sweden international became the first Magpies player to score in eight consecutive games in the competition when he struck twice in Wednesday night’s 3-0 home win over Wolves, a ninth victory on the trot in all competitions for Eddie Howe’s side.

Isak has found the back of the net 16 times in as many games to help boost Newcastle from 12th place in the middle of December into fourth and to within five points of Arsenal, the closest challengers to leaders Liverpool, and he is not planning to take his foot off the gas now.

Asked about his record-breaking run, the £63million former Real Sociedad frontman told NUFC TV: “To be fair, I’m just happy to keep on scoring and helping the team in the best way. Those records are things you enjoy after your career.

“It’s not my main focus, I just want to score every game. But yes, obviously that’s nice as well.

“The main target for me is to keep on going, keep working hard and not relaxing because it can turn quickly, so I have to stay focused on doing my job.”

Isak’s impact since his arrival on Tyneside during the summer of 2022 has led to persistent speculation that he could be snapped up by one of Europe’s biggest clubs, and the Magpies have guarded against poachers by placing an eye-watering £150m price tag on his head.

Their determination to hang on to him is understandable – he has scored 46 Premier League goals in just 71 appearances, one behind Callum Wilson with only Alan Shearer, who scored 148 of his 260 top-flight goals in a black and white shirt, ahead of them in the club’s all-time list.

Longer-term, there is Leicester striker Jamie Vardy’s run of scoring in 11 consecutive league games, although Isak insists that is not at the forefront of his mind.

He said: “My target is just to score every game, so I’m not thinking too much about the record. But if I was to get close to that, that would be nice, obviously.”

Isak’s latest contribution, a deflected 34th-minute strike and a cool finish after being picked out by Bruno Guimaraes 12 minutes after the break, laid the foundation for victory over Wolves before he set up Anthony Gordon to cement the win 24 hours after Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Chelsea and Manchester City all dropped points.

He said: “We want to end up as high as possible. It’s still early to be looking at the table to much, but we want to grab points and for other teams to drop points, that’s good for us.”

Meanwhile, Newcastle will await developments on the transfer front, with Major League Soccer side Atlanta United pursuing their former frontman Miguel Almiron and Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce having registered an interest in defender Lloyd Kelly.

Wolves boss Vitor Pereira, who confirmed Mario Lemina has opted not to travel after asking to leave the club, left Tyneside disappointed with the result, but confident there was something to build upon.

He said: “I saw commitment, I saw they played with team spirit. They ran a lot. We tried everything to score a goal, and in the end the result is not a result that expresses what happened on the field.”