This week, Newcastle United strengthened their grip on a place in the top four with a dominant 4-1 win at Goodison Park against Everton.
Despite scoring four goals across four games going into that contest, manager Eddie Howe opted to start forward Isak on the bench. Even so, the Swedish international still managed to steal the show despite only joining the action with 17 minutes remaining.
Just seconds after Everton had pulled a goal back in the 80th minute, Isak grabbed the ball near the halfway line and produced a remarkable mazy run through several Everton defenders.
After skipping past multiple challenges, he drove into the penalty area where he teed up Jacob Murphy to smash home Newcastle’s fourth goal from close range.
Although the attacker wasn’t awarded an assist for the goal as it took a slight deflection en route into Murphy's path, it was yet another fine moment in what’s proving to be a standout debut campaign in the Premier League for the Swede.
Newcastle United smashed their transfer record to sign Isak in a deal worth up to £63million in the summer. While his reputation as one of Europe's most exciting young prospects couldn’t have been questioned at the time, there were some eyebrows raised at the fee paid to bring him to the Premier League - particularly given he scored just six La Liga goals for Real Sociedad last season.
That was an underwhelming return and a sharp decrease on the 17 he had netted in the league campaign prior.
His lowly goal tally may have been a reason why other big clubs from across Europe opted not to make a move in the summer, and even Newcastle’s decision to finally commit to striking a deal for the forward only came late in August shortly before the transfer window closed.
Yet wider team factors harmed Isak’s goalscoring exploits last season, and when analysing the same, it shouldn't come as a shock that he's looked at his most lethal again in a better-suited environment this season.
Real Sociedad enjoyed a strong domestic campaign last year, finishing sixth, but their success was built on strong defensive foundations; only four sides conceded fewer goals. Some of that defensive solidity came at the expense of the attack, though, and there were only six teams who netted fewer goals. They also ranked middle of the pack in terms of shots attempted.
It’s no coincidence that in the LaLiga campaign prior when Sociedad seemed to approach games with more attacking freedom - scoring the fifth most goals in Spain’s top-flight - Isak was much more prolific.
This undoubtedly would have been considered by both sporting director Dan Ashworth and head of recruitment Steve Nickson when they were assessing Isak's suitability for Newcastle.
During his 18 months in charge, manager Howe has done a brilliant job of turning Newcastle into a team who play both effective but also free-flowing attacking football.
Beyond boasting a strong league position, this season they also rank inside the Premier League’s top five in terms of goals scored and shots attempted.
It is little surprise, then, that Isak is again thriving. He’s already scored four more league goals than he managed across the whole of last season, despite having played less than half the number of league minutes at Newcastle (1,079) that he played at Sociedad (2,245) in his final campaign there.
Not just that, but the underlying numbers suggest he’s been one of the Premier League's most lethal attackers so far.
In terms of goals per 90, he currently boasts an average of 0.85. For comparison, of all Premier League players who have accumulated more than 1000 league minutes, only Erling Haaland (1.19) can better that this season.
Additionally, only two players have a higher xG per 90, while only six have attempted more shots per 90.
What’s remarkable is that Isak is posting those numbers despite having endured a stop-start campaign due to multiple thigh problems.
Logic would suggest a fully-fit version of Isak with a settled run in the starting XI could build on that form even further, which is a terrifying prospect for the rest of the Premier League but an exciting one for Newcastle United who'll be feeling their summer investment is already more than justified.
