Ross Wilson will be thanking Alexander Isak as new Newcastle United chief weighs up three major decisions

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Ross Wilson has only just started working as Newcastle United’s new sporting director, but there are already key decisions that the new Toon chief must make.

It was announced on Saturday that Wilson is Newcastle’s new sporting director, arriving from Nottingham Forest to replace Paul Mitchell following his summer departure.

Newcastle are delighted to get Wilson, as they continue to give Eddie Howe the tools for further success at St James’ Park.

The 41-year-old will be a key figure behind the scenes, and he will be eager to enjoy a strong start to life on Tyneside.

Ross Wilson must hand three Newcastle United stars new contracts

He can do that by handing out new and improved contracts to some of the most important members of the Newcastle United squad.

There are three contracts that Wilson must prioritise now that he is the Magpies’ sporting director: Sandro Tonali, Tino Livramento and Sven Botman.

Geordie Boot Boys understand that Newcastle want to extend Tonali and Livramento’s contracts, especially after the latter attracted strong transfer interest from Manchester City over the summer.

As for Tonali, he deserves an improved deal given his importance at St James’ Park. It is essential that he remains in the North East, as rumours of Tonali returning to Italy continue to swirl.

Botman’s contract situation has also become even more important with his form in recent weeks. Botman looks back to his best, having initially struggled to get over his injury issues.

It has been reported that Eddie Howe wants Botman to sign a new contract, and it would appear that the feeling is mutual.

According to the i Paper, Botman is keen to extend his deal at Newcastle United.

That will be music to the ears of Ross Wilson, who will immediately prove his worth as sporting director if he can get three key players to commit their futures to the club.

Why Alexander Isak will help Ross Wilson

Getting Botman, Livramento and Tonali to sign new deals will be made easier for Wilson by former Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak.

Newcastle sold Isak to Liverpool on transfer deadline day, with the Sweden international moving to Anfield for a British record fee of £125million.

Isak has struggled ever since leaving the Magpies, while his departure gave Newcastle a massive PSR boost. While some of that PSR boost was eaten up by the big money arrivals of Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa, Newcastle are still in an incredibly strong financial position.

That should allow Wilson to give Tonali, Botman and Livramento the pay rises they deserve.

It is a contrast to the Isak contract situation that resulted in him downing tools at St James’ Park. Having initially been promised a new deal by Amanda Staveley, Paul Mitchell pulled the plug on Isak getting a new contract.

It was decided that Newcastle did not have the financial capacity to hand Isak a pay rise because of PSR, which did not go down well with the player or his representatives.

Now Newcastle have greater financial capacity, which is largely because of Isak’s controversial departure.