Eddie Howe answers whether he would swap Alexander Isak for Erling Haaland ahead of Man City clash

Eddie Howe has to face some pretty stupid questions on a weekly basis as part of his job as Newcastle United manager, and today was no different.

Newcastle take on Manchester City at the Etihad on Saturday, so Howe met the press on Friday morning to face their questions ahead of the massive fixture.

Naturally, there were a lot of talk about the two strikers, Alexander Isak and Erling Haaland, both of whom have been labeled the best striker in Europe at one point.

Howe was asked who he would choose in a straight choice between the two strikers. Possibly one of the stupidest questions you could ask. You could ask whether he'd rather have Jacob Murphy or Erling Haaland, and Howe would pick Murphy because he's one of his own players. He's hardly going to upset one of his current players by saying he'd swap him.

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Eddie Howe wouldn't swap Alexander Isak for anyone

Howe handled the question well, however, and gave a good answer.

“I’m sure Pep would give the same answer (about his own player), but I love working with Alex, and I wouldn’t swap him for anyone. We’ve got a good relationship, and he’s got a good relationship with his teammates.

“We’ve tried to help him by moulding our style of play to suit his game. I really respect Erling, obviously, and what he’s done in his career is unbelievable, but we really love Alex.”

We'll have a pop at answering the question too

While it was obvious that Howe would say Isak given that he's his player, we do genuinely believe that he 100% meant what he said.

We can answer the question too ... we'd pick Alexander Isak every time. Erling Haaland is an unnatural phenomenon; there's no denying that, but for all-round play and versatility, we'll stick with Isak.

The things Isak can do with the ball at his feet are just as exciting as watching him score sometimes. Give us a striker from Sweden over the Cyborg from Norway every time.