Alexander Isak joined Real Sociedad from Borussia Dortmund three years ago and has scored 44 goals in 132 appearances; striker has also scored nine goals in 37 games for Sweden; Isak scored for Spanish side in 4-1 defeat to Barcelona in La Liga last weekend
Friday 26 August 2022 16:03, UK
Alexander Isak has completed a medical at Newcastle ahead of his £58m move from Real Sociedad.
Isak is yet to finalise personal terms with Eddie Howe's side but no problems are expected ahead of what would be a club-record deal for Newcastle, eclipsing the £40m they paid Hoffenheim for Joelinton in 2019 and Lyon for Bruno Guimaraes in January.
Dan Ashworth, Newcastle's sporting director, and Steve Nickson, the club's head of recruitment, had been in Spain to work on a deal that has moved at pace.
Speaking at his press conference on Friday, Howe said: "It's not completed. We hope to get it done.
"Fingers crossed [he can play Sunday]. There's no guarantee with these things, as it's in other people's hands. But hopefully.
"He will probably need to train with us in the next two days to be available to play....we're very keen to see him get involved as quickly as possible."
Isak has been at Real Sociedad since the summer of 2019, when he arrived from Borussia Dortmund, and has scored 44 goals in 132 appearances - including one in the 4-1 La Liga defeat to Barcelona on Sunday.
The 22-year-old also has nine goals in 37 caps for Sweden, the first of which came when he was just 17 and made him his country's youngest goalscorer.
Howe continued: "He's had a lot thrown at him for a young player, the experiences he has had have been incredible for someone so young.
"He's played in Germany at a very young age, Holland and Spain and for some big clubs. Great experiences.
"The English game will suit his profile. Technically very good and I think he has a host of things going for him.
"His best years are ahead of him."
If Isak completes his move to St James' Park, he will become Newcastle's fourth signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Sven Botman, Matt Targett and Nick Pope, and eighth permanent arrival since the Saudi-backed consortium's takeover last autumn.
Callum Wilson suffered a hamstring scare in the 3-3 draw with Manchester City to place greater emphasis on Isak being signed to provide competition up front, with Howe providing an update on Wilson's fitness.
"We are hopeful Callum will only be out for a couple of weeks," said the Newcastle boss.
"I think we reacted slightly off that, we were always looking for an attacking player but it changed our focus slightly on the type. But we're delighted to hopefully sign Alex."
Newcastle are also keen on Watford's Joao Pedro and are hopeful of signing the forward after making a second offer earlier this week.
The bid is believed to be in the region of £30m, including add-ons.
Everton have also enquired about Pedro's availability, although they are yet to make Watford an offer of their own.
Watford are considering the proposal from Newcastle, with talks ongoing over the structure of the payments and how achievable the add-ons are. However, the Championship club are under no pressure to sell as Pedro still has three years remaining on his contract.
Sky Sports News revealed on August 15 that the Hornets rejected a £17.5m bid for the 20-year-old Brazilian, who scored three goals and recorded one assist from 15 starts and 13 sub appearances in the Premier League last season.
Who will be on the move before the transfer window closes at 11pm on September 1?
Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports' digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.
