Gary Lineker has weighed in on the debate regarding whether or not Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak is world class.
The 25-year-old ended his one-game goal drought on Saturday, scoring a brace as Newcastle United beat Southampton.
Alexander Isak netted a penalty to draw the Magpies level, before a beautiful finish turned the game around. The Sweden international now has 19 goals in all competitions this season, with 17 of those coming in the Premier League.
But is Isak world class? His teammates certainly think so. Sean Longstaff has called Isak ‘world class’, while Dan Burn said he is at the end of last season.
More recently, Alan Shearer called Isak ‘world class’ on Saturday night, ranking him alongside Erling Haaland and Mo Salah.
However, Danny Murphy disagrees, as they debated Isak’s current status on Saturday night’s edition of Match Of The Day. Murphy said Isak is not world class yet, admitting that he needs to play at this level for longer.
READ MORE: Who is Alexander Isak? Age, Height, Family, Nationality, Roots
Gary Lineker is asked if Alexander Isak is ‘world class’
That is a stance that Gary Lineker agrees with.
Lineker was asked whether he thinks Isak is world class on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football podcast.
“I think it’s a little bit too early to go that way,” he said.
“I mean his record’s very good. If you said at this moment in time…
“I think world class, right, you’ve got a squad of, let’s say 23 players like you have in a major tournament, would, in a world team, would you get in that squad? And that’s how I kind of try to justify world class.
“And I suppose, if it was picked tomorrow, you would. He would have a real chance of getting in that squad.
“But the fact that he’s probably not done it consistently enough, only probably because of injuries, I think he needs another season or two of proving that he can score on this kind of basis that he is at present.
“So I think he’s very close.”
How Isak compares to Salah and Haaland
To truly be considered world class, you need to deliver at an extremely high standard for a number of years.
In the eyes of Murphy and Lineker, that is yet to happen with Isak. He has done it for the past couple of seasons, but probably needs a couple more to be truly recognised as world class.
But he is certainly on the right path, and on current ability he absolutely is. There is not a better striker in the Premier League right now. In fact, some will say that Isak is the best striker on the planet.
When you compare Isak to Salah and Haaland, there is a clear difference. They have both scored an incredible number of goals for multiple years in a row. Salah is in his eighth season with Liverpool, and has always scored more than 20 goals in all competitions. As for Haaland, this is his sixth season in a row which he has scored goals at an alarming rate.
Historically, Isak is a level below those players. But right now he is on a par, and is on the path to undeniably being world class.
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