Report: Newcastle must brace themselves for £80m summer raid from Arsenal for 'incredible' star

The Premier League is now on a break as the international sides take focus in the last round of friendlies before the European Championships kick off this summer.

That means bored journalists up and down the country will be flinging darts at their boards to create transfer stories or simply resurrecting old ones that never went anywhere in order to give themselves something to do. We're not knocking them, they've got to earn their money somehow.

One such story that has done the rounds previously and is now back in circulation via Team Talk and even in The Express is that Arsenal are looking towards Newcastle to finally bring in a proper striker this summer.

Not having a typical number nine hasn't hampered them so far this season with the Gunners still in with a shout of winning the Premier League and the Champions League, but there's always been a feeling that they've lacked that player with the cutting-edge up front for a while.

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Arsenal could be willing to part with £80million for Isak

Team Talk have claimed that Mikel Arteta has his eyes on none other than Newcastle United's 'incredible' striker, Alexander Isak and that they could be willing to pay £80million to land the striker.

Isak signed for Newcastle in 2022 for £63million so while £80million would be a profit, I'm sorry, it's not enough of one. Even though the 24-year-old has spent a lot of time on the sidelines injured, we've seen the quality he has, the natural finishing ability, and the versatility. There's no way he's not a £100million player already, especially considering he's a striker. Those guys don't come cheap.

The report in The Express suggests Newcastle may be forced to sell in the summer to comply with financial regulations, and while there's an air of truth to that, the impending rule change surrounding spending does take the urgency off that somewhat. Plus, selling players is one thing, selling the stars we're trying to build a team around is another.

Anything is possible, but this one doesn't worry us yet

Look, anything can happen in football, and there could be some truth to this one and Isak could even be tempted, especially after the season Newcastle have had, but we'd like to think there's enough belief in this project that the board and Eddie Howe can convince the likes of Isak and Bruno Guimaraes to stick it out for another season and see what happens.

We don't believe for a second that these players were sold a dream of instant success when they signed. They've all spoken about the "project", they know it's not an overnight thing.

That being said, they could have come here as a stepping stone, a way to get their foot in the Premier League door and if that's the case, then goodbye! We've got no time for players who don't want to be here.

We'll have to see how this one plays out in the summer, but our guess is £80million won't be enough and Arsenal won't go higher than that.