Former Newcastle winger Chris Waddle believes Arsenal may baulk at Alexander Isak’s asking price due to the striker’s injury record.

Speaking to Prime Casino, Waddle said the Swedish international’s £100m+ valuation could lead to clubs like the Gunners cooling their interest, especially as he isn’t always fit and available:

“We don’t know if Isak is very interested in going to Arsenal. Moving to London, heading south, that appeals to a lot of players. Isak doesn’t really do a lot of interviews. He doesn’t really give a lot away, just gets on with his game. He’s had injury problems in his career. Arsenal might be thinking twice about spending £100 million plus on him because of that history.”

“He’s a very good centre forward. He’s a player who I didn’t expect to do as well as he has. He can dribble, he can run, he’s got pace, he can finish. You know, he’s a good centre-forward for modern-day football. He’s got very quick feet and I can see why Arsenal are looking at him as a priority because he would instantly improve their team. Keeping him fit is the main thing. If you keep him fit, you’ve got an ideal centre-forward for the Premier League.”

Newcastle will be hoping to keep suitors at bay

As Waddle points out, Isak has demonstrated that he is a perfect striker for the Premier League so the Magpies are well within their rights to ask top-dollar from clubs trying to lure him away from St James’ Park.

While the 25-year-old can have spells out injured, he has been mostly available this campaign, with the forward thriving as a result.

Isak’s form puts him in contention for the Golden Boot

The striker scored his 13th league goal of the campaign in the 2-1 win over Tottenham at the weekend, which means he has found the back of the net in 10 of his last 12 matches.

In terms of top scorers, Isak is joint third alongside Chelsea’s Cole Palmer and Bryan Mbeumo. He is three behind Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and five adrift of Liverpool’s Mo Salah. If he can carry on in this vein, though, he could be in contention for the Premier League Golden Boot when the season reaches its conclusion in May.

Find out who is in Newcastle United’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here