What Eddie Howe is doing behind the scenes to keep Alexander Isak happy at Newcastle United

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Newcastle United have something special with Alexander Isak.

There’s no doubt in anybody’s mind that Newcastle struck gold when Isak signed for a club-record fee.

Since joining, Isak has scored 48 goals across all competitions, including 12 Premier League goals this season – only Cole Palmer, Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah have more.

A hat-trick against Ipswich Town was a big highlight, but there have been murmurs of interest in the Swede.

Arsenal have been encouraged to sign Isak, either in January or the summer but Newcastle’s £150million valuation of the 25-year-old shows they’re not willing to let him go without a fight.

While Newcastle are preparing for outgoings, Isak isn’t one of them. A recent report shows just how far Toon boss Eddie Howe and his staff have gone to keep him happy.

Eddie Howe noticed a change in Isak’s attitude

Isak had a slow start to the season, scoring just once in his first six games. He wasn’t right and Howe noticed that along with his coaching staff.

According to Luke Edwards of the Telegraph, they could see he was not playing well but worked with him to bring him back to normality.

The report states that Howe holds regular one-on-one meetings, but decided to devote special attention to Isak to understand what was going on inside his head and get honest answers from him.

Despite exit rumours, the report also suggests that Isak has never asked to leave Newcastle, ever. Howe reminded Isak of how well-loved he is on Tyneside.

It’s clear a weight has been lifted off Isak’s shoulders and he is playing with much more freedom. Howe won’t say it himself but it will be down to his discussions and the faith he has shown to the Swede.

READ MORE: Who is Alexander Isak? Age, Height, Family, Nationality, Roots

Isak’s Premier League form since October

After a slow start to the season, Isak hit the ground running when he returned from a toe injury in October.

Since then he has only failed to score in three of Newcastle’s last 12 league games.

He also scored in Newcastle’s 2-0 Carabao Cup win against Chelsea, the game that kicked off his fine form. The 24-year-old could add to his tally once again in the next week as the Magpies make two trips to North London to face Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal respectively.