“Without a doubt”… Newcastle legend thinks Alexander Isak will leave if Eddie Howe doesn’t do one thing this season

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Newcastle United will have to circle the wagons around Alexander Isak this summer.

The Magpies are eager to keep ahold of their star striker, but by no means will it be an easy task with clubs in the Premier League eyeing his signature.

Newcastle United have made it clear that Alexander Isak will not leave the club for anything less than a British record transfer fee at the end of the season. Despite that, Liverpool are interested in Isak who has scored 19 goals in the Premier League so far this campaign, the third-highest tally in the competition.

Isak is willing to sign a new contract at Newcastle at the end of the season with the hope that they can qualify for the Champions League this season. The Swede got a taste of European nights with the Magpies during the 2023/24 campaign, scoring once away to PSG.

Sporting director Paul Mitchell will have his work cut out for him in the upcoming transfer window, with several positions in need of improvement.

While Mitchell put plans in place for the summer, a Newcastle legend has made a big claim over Isak’s future at the club.

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

Lee Clark thinks Alexander Isak could leave Newcastle

Former Newcastle star Lee Clark played for the Magpies on two occasions between 1987 and 2007 as well as another stint in the 2005/06 season, making 265 appearances in all competitions during his time at the club.

Clark expressed an interest in returning to Newcastle in a coaching capacity in 2024 following under-21s coach Ben Dawson’s departure to become first-team coach at Leicester City. The move never came to fruition and Diarmuid O’Carroll took the reins instead.

He is the son of former Newcastle academy star Bobby Clark who left the Magpies to join Liverpool in 2022 and then moved to RB Salzburg in 2024.

Speaking to TalkSPORT, Clark was asked about the possibility of selling Isak if Newcastle don’t qualify for the Champions League by former Arsenal duo Alan Brazil and Ray Parlour.

“Without a doubt, I think if we don’t get Champions League we’re in real trouble about keeping Isak,” he said.

“He’s one of the hottest strikers in Europe at this moment in time, if not the hottest. He’s got everything to his game.

“Ray will know because he was lucky enough to play alongside to play alongside Thierry. He’s probably the closest thing in the Premier League to him. I’m not saying he is the new Thierry Henry but he does have a lot of similarities.

“He can drop deep, he can go out wide, he can assist goals and can, of course, score them. He’s a massive player who will want to play Champions League throughout his career.

“That’s football when you’re a top player though. He’ll know he doesn’t need people telling him. He knows his worth, he knows the level that he should be playing on a regular basis. We all know what, Newcastle fans can see that. That’s the big fear.

“That’s why winning a trophy or getting into the top four or five is imperative now to keep him because if we don’t getting a replacement for him will be very difficult and it won’t be cheap either.”

Newcastle are still challenging for Europe this season

While recent results haven’t been anywhere near as good as they were at the start of 2025, Newcastle are still in with a good chance of playing some form of European football next season.

The Magpies play in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday and will automatically qualify for the Europa League if they win it. Newcastle currently sit ninth in the Premier League but the fight for Europe is a tight one and Howe’s side are only three points off Manchester City in fifth place.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
5	Man CityManchester City	28	14	5	9	53	38	15	47
6	BrightonBrighton	28	12	10	6	46	40	6	46
7	Aston VillaAston Villa	29	12	9	8	41	45	-4	45
8	B’mouthBournemouth	28	12	8	8	47	34	13	44
9	NewcastleNewcastle	27	13	5	9	46	38	8	44
10	FulhamFulham	28	11	9	8	41	38	3	42
11	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	28	10	9	9	36	33	3	39
12	BrentfordBrentford	28	11	5	12	48	44	4	38

The belief is that fifth will be enough for a Champions League spot this season given how well English clubs have performed in Europe this season. The likes of Liverpool and Arsenal look set to reach the quarter-finals of Europe’s top competition following positive performances against PSG and PSV Eindhoven respectively.

With 11 games left to play, Newcastle have all the impetus they need to kick on towards the end of the season. Once the cup final is out of the way it’s all eyes on the league and finishing in one of those European spots.