Alan Shearer is one of the best footballers to ever play for Newcastle United.
Shearer became a Newcastle club legend after making the move from Blackburn Rovers to the Magpies for a then-world record transfer fee in 1996. Some older fans will remember the day that he signed for the club and was unveiled in front of thousands of adoring fans in the shadow of St James’ Park.
The Geordie went on to score 206 goals in the black and white stripes, becoming Newcastle’s highest goalscorer in his final season.
Now, Shearer spends a lot of his time covering Newcastle games and enjoying the fantastic run of form the club has been on under current Toon boss Eddie Howe.
He has also enjoyed watching Alexander Isak’s brilliant run in Newcastle’s starting XI. Although not the same player as Isak stylistically, Shearer backed himself to score many goals in the current Newcastle side.
While Shearer had 10 magnificent years at Newcastle, things could have been a lot different. Before joining Newcastle, Shearer had a tossup between returning to his home club or signing for Manchester United.
We all know what choice he made, but not why he made it until a former Man United chairman revealed what happened during the summer of ’96.
- READ MORE – Alan Shearer brutally mocks Manchester United fans as Newcastle United easily win at Old Trafford
Blackburn chairman did not want Shearer at Man United
At the time, Man United had just won the Premier League, beating Newcastle to the title by four points. Shearer had discussions with Sir Alex Ferguson before talking to Kevin Keegan, who was the Newcastle boss at the time.
Shearer would have partnered with either Eric Cantona or Andy Cole; a former Newcastle man, at Man United. It looked like Shearer could have signed for the Red Devils, but former chairman Martin Edwards revealed on the Beyond the Page podcast in 2018 that Jack Walker; Blackburn’s chairman did not want him to sign for them.
“Shearer had been to Alex Ferguson’s house, spoke to him and assured him he wanted to come,” Edwards said.
“The problem, I think, was with the chairman of Blackburn, Jack Walker, who was not a great fan of Manchester United, (we were) local rivals, both Lancashire clubs.
“He did not want Alan Shearer to come to Manchester United. Shearer was quite close to Walker, who was like a father figure to him, and I don’t think Alan wanted to upset him by coming to United.
“And I’m not sure Jack would have let him come anyway, whereas he was happy for Alan to go to Newcastle, I don’t think that was a threat to him.”
Man United looked at Brazilian legend Batistuta but deemed that his wages would be far too much for them to afford. They ended up signing Ole Gunnar Solkjaer instead.
- READ MORE – Alan Shearer names the two players who could break his goalscoring record before Erling Haaland at Man City
Alexander Isak could beat Shearer’s Newcastle record
Isak looks to be the best striker Newcastle have had since Shearer. Since Isak signed for Newcastle in 2022, he has scored 52 goals in 91 appearances in all competitions, including 17 this season.
Howe has referred to Isak as “such a unique player” thanks to his dribbling ability and capability to score and provide assists when needed.
The Swede has been in red-hot form throughout the campaign and has already overtaken Callum Wilson in Newcastle’s all-time scorer table despite joining the club two years later.
He has a long way to go, but Isak has a big chance of becoming Newcastle’s top scorer if he continues the way he is playing.
If Isak carries on scoring at the pace he is, he will overtake Shearer by the time he catches up to his number of appearances.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
