"You don't get crystal balls in football - but you didn't need one to see that he was a player that was going right to the top," says Adrie Koster, the former Willem II boss who worked with Alexander Isak during his loan spell in the Eredivisie in 2019.
Koster knows a thing or two about nurturing precocious talent. The former Netherlands winger was the manager at Ajax when Luis Suarez arrived at the club and watched on as the Uruguayan maverick used his stay in Holland as a springboard for moves to Liverpool and Barcelona.
As he says, you don’t have to be a mystic to see that Newcastle’s Swedish goal machine is on a similar trajectory.
Last Tuesday night, on a bitterly cold night in north London, Isak warmed to his task in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, scoring his 15th goal of the season as Eddie Howe’s side romped to a 2-0 win – their first away win against Arsenal since 2010.
When Newcastle’s Premier League season resumes against Wolves this evening, Isak will go in search of a goal to extend an astonishing seven-match top-flight scoring streak. Jamie Vardy’s record currently stands at 11. It would be no surprise if the 25year-old challenged it in the coming weeks.
“Vardy beat that record the year we won the Premier League but I remember Henrik Larsson saying that once you’re on a roll you get the feeling that everything you hit is going to go in,” says Paul Balsom, head of performance innovation at Leicester during their title-winning season in 2015-16 and a member of Sweden’s backroom staff for 26 years.
“Henrik would say that he would pull the trigger at times that he might not have previously when he was on that kind of streak. You’re not scared to miss and you start thinking that everything you hit is going to go in.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 15, 2025-Ausgabe von The Independent.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 15, 2025-Ausgabe von The Independent.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
United boosted by lucky victory but remain flawed
“They were lucky to win tonight,” Marco Silva said after Fulham’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United.
Second Australian Open title in a row for Sinner
Zverev says rival in 'different universe' after straight sets loss
GOING ORGANIC
The Independent's expert Rosamund Hall explores if grapes grown without pesticides are all they are cracked up to be
Peace deal only chance’ to free hostages, say families
Those waiting for relatives and friends to come home after being held in Gaza urge Israel and Hamas to honour ceasefire
Presence of Zelensky ally at inauguration shows Trump backs Ukraine, say insiders
Concerns that Donald Trump may be prepared to ditch America’s support for Ukraine and president Volodymyr Zelensky are wrong, insiders have claimed.
The rise, fall and rise of an actor too good to be ignored
As Adrien Brody mounts a comeback courtesy of ambitious drama ‘The Brutalist', Louis Chilton explores why the Oscar winner endured years of cinematic Siberia after 'The Pianist'
Leicester outsmart Spurs as Postecoglou under pressure
Two goals in four second-half minutes helped Leicester earn a first Premier League win since 3 December with a 2-1 victory at Tottenham to pile more pressure on Ange Postecoglou.
How Trump’s tech bros sucked the life out of Texas
A new broligarchy’ of the super-rich has emerged in the US but it is the ordinary citizens and the cities they live in who will suffer from unrestrained growth, warns Alex Hannaford
China pours tens of millions into the top UK universities
Top British universities have received tens of millions of pounds from Chinese organisations, The Independent can reveal, as experts warn the UK is increasingly becoming a target for Beijing as it looks to increase its global influence and stifle criticism.
If Russian spies are in UK waters, we have to respond
There have been strong words from Defence Secretary John Healey after a British submarine had to warn off a Russian spy ship in UK waters. His message for Russia was: “We know what you are doing.