Eddie Howe not looking to lose Alexander Isak after brilliant hat-trick

Eddie Howe issued a hands-off warning to any potential January suitors of “world-class” Newcastle forward Alexander Isak after he struck a 54-minute hat-trick to inspire a 4-0 victory at Ipswich.

Isak opened his account with 26 seconds on the clock when he fired home following a poor clearance by Town captain Sam Morsy, but the offside flag was immediately raised.

A two-and-a-half-minute VAR check followed and the goal was eventually awarded before Isak got his second on the stroke of half-time when Bruno Guimaraes robbed Jens Cajuste, which provided the Swedish striker with a simple tap-in.

Isak did not have to wait long to secure his first treble for the Magpies when he slotted into the bottom corner from Jacob Murphy’s back heel to take his tally for the club to 43 goals in 84 appearances to reinforce why plenty around the world admire the 25-year-old.

“He is a world-class talent and the way he took his goals today, he has got that coolness in front of goal, that composure that very few players have,” Howe reflected.

“When you add his other qualities into the mix, how quick he is, how technically gifted he is, for me, he has got it all.”

With Newcastle eager to not fall foul of Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) ahead of the winter transfer window, Howe was asked if he wanted to keep Isak.

Howe smiled: “It makes me laugh. Yeah, absolutely. There is no part of me or anyone at Newcastle that wants to let Alex go. He is very much part of our long-term plans and personally, I don’t see that being an issue.

“He is motivated and he wants to do well. He has got big aspirations with his career, still relatively young, so he has got hopefully a really bright future ahead of him.

“I know his desire to score goals is second to none. Every conversation I have had about Newcastle concerning his future with him has been very positive.

“I would love for him, with the other players, to be the man and team-mates to contribute towards us winning a trophy. That’s the aim.”

Ex-Norwich attacker Murphy was also a thorn in the Ipswich defence as he smashed home in the 32nd minute to add to two assists at the home of his old club’s rivals.

Isak then took centre stage to help Newcastle follow up a midweek 3-1 triumph at home to Brentford in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with a third away success of the season.

Those present at Portman Road also got to witness the club’s first hat-trick since Ayoze Perez netted a treble against Southampton in 2019.

“I’m surprised it has taken Alex this long to get a hat-trick with the qualities he has,” Howe admitted.

“I know he has got a lot of individual goals, a lot of doubles but I am pleased because it is a unique thing.

“It is a game he’ll never forget, his first hat-trick for Newcastle is a big moment and we take great pride in our players performing well. Hopefully there is another around the corner.”

Ipswich endured a tough afternoon after last weekend’s last-gasp win away to Wolves and Kieran McKenna promised they would learn from it.

“We have to take some lessons from it, for sure,” he reflected.

“I have been saying that the group have been doing very, very well to be as competitive as we have been.

“We have to be close to 100 per cent to be competitive in games and need to do all the right things. We didn’t do that today and come up against a very good opponent, who were better than us.”