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Newcastle United aiming for 'blockbuster' announcement after worrying Alexander Isak talk

Securing the services of Alexander Isak beyond his current deal would be a much-needed boost for Newcastle supporters

Newcastle United sources insist that it is "business as usual" when it comes to Alexander Isak's contract discussions with the club.

Claims that Isak has demanded a release clause in his contract done the rounds last week but Toon insiders feel that things are being done no differently to negotiations with other stars. Indeed, that was the case during the talks with Bruno Guimaraes when a £100m release clause was inserted into the five-year contract announced last year.

But despite plenty of talk of the clause being triggered by either Manchester City or Arsenal neither of the big guns coughed up the asking price. Isak is contracted to Newcastle until 2028 after his £63m move from Real Sociedad in 2022 but is keen on agreeing an enhanced deal as a reward after scoring 36 times for the Magpies so far.

And Newcastle chiefs are hopeful of agreeing a new contract with Isak to send out a signal of intent and show some ambition to the rest of the Premier League after two consecutive underwhelming windows. Getting Isak tied down was believed to be on the "to do list" of departing directors Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi earlier this year with emphasis now swinging on to sporting director Paul Mitchell and CEO Darren Eales to get the job done in what would be a blockbuster announcement.

Staveley is believed to have intervened during discussions with Joelinton after talks fell flat last year on his extension before the Brazilian finally committed after long conversations. Back then that was deemed as an easy win with supporters and Isak's contract falls into a similar category.

Isak was interesting Chelsea last summer and the Blues got as far as an enquiry for the Sweden striker but were told it would take an "astronomical" fee to lure him from St James' Park. And it is understood that a sky high demand would come into play as far as any release clauses in a new contract would be concerned.

Isak also has long-term interest from Arsenal and Barcelona but it may take a fee north of £150m for Newcastle to even consider parting with their main man. Isak goes into today's encounter against Wolverhampton Wanderers in good fettle after three goals in two UEFA Nations League matches for Sweden in League One Group C against Azerbaijan and Estonia.

When asked about Isak's importance to United, amid reports of a new deal, Howe said this week: "He's one (of Newcastle's most important players) of, for sure.

"I don't think there is just one, I think there's always a group that are really important to the team and when they play well, the team plays better. Alex is certainly one of those players, he has all the qualities that we need. But ultimately we need to get him absolutely at his best because when he is, he's a game-changer."

Despite just netting once in the Premier League this season, after Isak netted the winner against Tottenham Hotspur, Howe believes the 24-year-old will be in a good place after scoring for Sweden. Howe told Chronicle Live: "Every striker, attacking player, has that need and want to score goals and he will feel good about himself, no doubt.

"Having watched the games back, he played very well, took his goals superbly well and that added to the Tottenham goal in a big moment for us, scoring the winning goal, he will now hopefully be full of confidence."

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