Newcastle’s “lost” flop is now on par with Isak after being sold by Howe

Newcastle United will hope to advance to the fifth round of the FA Cup this weekend, meeting Birmingham City in the Midlands.

Eddie Howe‘s side are also battling to lift gold in England’s other top domestic competition, meeting Liverpool at Wembley in March’s final, and it’s all pointing toward a rather exciting business end to the 2024/25 campaign.

It didn’t always feel like it was going to be a barnstorming campaign for the Magpies, who had trundled out of the gates after a disappointing summer of spending.

But, fronted by the brilliant Alexander Isak, United are poised for a return to European competition and indeed have another shot at silverware, seeking to end a 70-year drought.

Isak is the key.

Alexander Isak’s season in numbers

Mention the name Isak to Alan Shearer and you’ll get a stream of effusions about one of the best centre-forwards to have ever graced the Premier League pitch.

After all the ballyhoo, though, Isak truly is one of the finest goalscorers in the business, with Shearer labelling him as a “world-class assassin” during one recent striker-to-striker interview.

Newcastle’s stunning two-legged victory over Arsenal to set up a Carabao Cup final with Liverpool is all the buzz on Tyneside at the moment, but justly so.

Perhaps the biggest testament that could be bestowed upon the Sweden star’s skill set would be that he didn’t score or assist against Arsenal on Tuesday evening but still earned the roaring support of St. James’ Park and beyond, putting in a complete display that many other top strikers fail to produce.

He’s one of a kind, and Newcastle fans treasure the knowledge that he leads their line. However, PIF might never have authorised his sale had things worked out better with Chris Wood, who fell by the wayside in black and white but has since picked himself back up.

Why Newcastle sold Chris Wood

When Howe was anointed as Steve Bruce’s replacement, significant changes were made. It was January 2022. Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn reinforced the backline; Bruno Guimaraes marked a Galactico-esque addition to the midfield.

Newcastle were embroiled in a relegation battle but felt that they could leap from the pit of the Premier League with well-worked investment, and Wood was also targeted to strengthen the striking department.

Burnley’s talisman had been a consistent source of goals under Sean Dyche and was signed for a sizeable £25m fee, but he failed to replicate his solid striking record under Howe’s leadership.

Pundit Tam McManus commented that Wood looked “a bit lost” during his St. James’ Park stay, failing to slot into the frontal position with the kind of fluency that has been evidenced with other English clubs.

Despite reaching double figures in all four of his full Premier League campaigns with the Clarets, Wood only managed to notch five strikes across 39 fixtures for Newcastle, with his target-man-like style not quite working in Howe’s set-up.

The New Zealand native was only ever a stop-gap, and United chiefs will be happy to have convinced Nottingham Forest to pay £15m to take him off their hands.

They will be less chuffed, however, with his success over the past two campaigns.

Chris Wood’s incredible campaign

Wood joined Forest on loan in January 2023, with his move turning permanent the following summer. The 33-year-old’s journey at the City Ground has been remarkable, posting 33 goals across just 67 appearances.

Last season, the Kiwi striker provided Forest with the perfect focal presence as they fought to stave off relegation from the Premier League, Nuno Espirito Santo replacing Steve Cooper before Christmas.

The Tricky Trees did their job, with Wood scoring 14 goals across 31 top-flight matches. However, few – if any – will have foreseen Wood’s incredible performances this season,