Newcastle lead race to sign the new Isak & it’s bad news for Woltemade

Eddie Howe‘s stance has shifted, with a number of injuries to key personnel in recent weeks forcing Newcastle United to place fresh emphasis on the January transfer window.

Tino Livramento is out for two months, and Fabian Schar has injured his knee and is targeting a return before the end of the campaign. Dan Burn and Emil Krafth are also sidelined.

A crowded fixture calendar has done anything but help matters, but Howe is now determined to make this a successful year for the Magpies, and that might require some help from afar.

Defence is the priority, but United have their eye on various areas of the pitch. In December, technical director Ross Wilson said Newcastle have money to spend, albeit far less than last summer, having invested heavily and now been hit by PSR restrictions.

Where Newcastle plan to invest this month

So, Newcastle do want to add a defender or two to their squad, especially if they hope to wade deep into FA Cup and Champions League competitions while keeping apace with the top-four pack in the Premier League.

More defensive depth is needed, for sure, but the Toon also need more firepower in the final third. Nick Woltemade is suffering a mid-season dip, and Yoane Wissa, 29, hasn’t got going after joining from Brentford for £55m last summer, with injury hampering him across the early months.

Howe knows his side cannot afford to peter out this season, so while the backline takes precedence, that hasn’t stopped him and Wilson from assessing the market for a tempting attacking signing.

According to Sports Boom, Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur are leading the race for Canadian striker Jonathan David, whose move to Juventus on a free transfer last year has not gone to plan.

The former LOSC Lille star would only leave if the Old Lady received an ‘irresistible’ offer.

David shares a stylistic likeness to Alexander Isak, who left Newcastle for Liverpool in a record-breaking £125m deal last year.

The Tyneside outfit have missed their free-scoring forward, but in David, they could land a new version.

How Jonathan David would play for Howe

David was one of the most clinical strikers in France across his five seasons in Ligue 1 with Lille, scoring 109 goals from 232 appearances, assisting 30 goals too.

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In France, he was a “superstar“, as described by international teammate Jonathan Osorio, a deadly finisher with electric movement.

Having moved to Juventus last summer, the 26-year-old has been out of sorts, but he’s still a top player and, like Isak, isw punching below his weight class.

By moving to Newcastle, perhaps David could take that number-nine vacancy that has not quite been filled this season.

His time at Juventus has been up and down, but David has scored in each of his past two Serie A and Champions League matches, and entrusted with a starring role at Newcastle, he could return to the kind of form that drew so many plaudits in France.

One of David’s most underrated strengths is his crisp and clever passing. The Canadian forward is more creative than most, but not at the expense of fluency in general build-up sequences.

His pace and dynamism combine elements of Woltemade and Isak’s game, but he does share many properties with the Sweden international, and in this, he could become Newcastle’s new version.

As you can see, Isak has probably been edged in the metrics by David over the past year. The Liverpool man might have endured a rocky start to his new career, but he’s still one of the finest forwards in the world, and he rode into Arne Slot’s system on the crest of a wave.

David, let’s not forget, hasn’t been in the finest form since joining Juventus, but he’s still a talented and dangerous striker with a wide-ranging skillset.

His progressiveness, both on the ball and in ferrying it forward, could bear dividends for Newcastle, whose attacking line has been out of kilter this season.

Recent weeks have shown us for the first time this season that Newcastle really do miss their former talisman. Isak was a one-of-a-kind striker for the St. James’ Park side, and this period of adaptation has had an unwanted effect on fluency and verve in the final third.

Woltemade has plenty of talent, but he’s inconsistent and slow. In David, Newcastle would land a ready-made goalscorer whose playing style would allow Howe to implement his tried-and-tested system.