Alexander Isak is one of the top-rated strikers in European football. The Swedish international is 23 years old and has played in the Bundesliga and La Liga. He was brought to the English Premier League by Newcastle United. They spent a lot of money to acquire his services. Isak started the season on a good note and scored a goal in his league debut against Liverpool. The striker played three games but was unfortunate to get injured. He missed four months of action while injured. Now the striker has returned to full fitness and is trying to show justification for his price tag. We now look at some of the stats that show how the 23-year-old has fared for the Magpies and how he can take them to Europe next season.
Troubling the opposition’s defence
Alexander Isak has performed decently in the current English Premier League season. He has made ten appearances for the club and scored six goals. The striker has scored all goals from inside the penalty box, with two coming from the spot kick. Isak has shown accuracy in front of the goal. He has taken 23 shots with a 60.9% accuracy rate. Overall, the player has an xG rate of 5.59 in the current season.
Alexander Isak is a number nine who can also drift to the flanks. He has taken 40 touches inside the penalty box and averages 5.22 touches per 90 minutes. It can be observed that most of these touches have been towards the left side.
A recent return to action
Alexander Isak returned to action in January. However, Eddie Howe was not sure to give him the full 90 minutes and the player made most of the appearances off the bench. After losing the EFL Cup final to Manchester United, Eddie Howe decided on giving his striker more gametime on the field.
In the three matches played in the English Premier League in March, Isak scored three goals. He scored the opener against Wolves and a brace against Forest to take his side over the line. Isak took 11 shots in 203 minutes on the field and was on target five times. The striker even took 17 touches inside the penalty box. Newcastle United were misfiring lately and were unable to score goals on regular basis. Isak is a striker capable of scoring goals in different situations. This was one of the reasons behind such a heavy investment.
What more does he offer?
The 23-year-old is yet to provide an assist for his side. He averages 14.22 passes per 90 minutes and has a 78% accuracy rate. By looking at the above viz we can observe that Isak likes to distribute the ball to his wide players. Most of his passes have been attempted to the left side.
As seen from the above visuals, Isak likes to drift towards the left side. He has done the same while penetrating the opposition penalty box. The player has made 18 box penetration carries, with most of them coming from the left side.
Alexander Isak holds the ability to recover the ball in the attacking areas. The striker has recovered the ball 21 times and 15 have been made in the attacking half.
Betting analysis
Alexander Isak’s return to form has an impact on Newcastle United’s odds rate. As per the 1×2 betting odds, the odds for the Magpies will lower against the weaker opponents. Scoring goals has also become easy for Newcastle United. This means that the over lines are expected to thrive.
The 23-year-old striker from Sweden is making his name in the English Premier League. Newcastle United are on a mission to play in Europe next season. He is spearheading their attack and leading his side to the right path.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine