Jamie Carragher has named the âonly two optionsâ for Alexander Isak if he leaves Newcastle in the summer.
Isak has enjoyed a brilliant season for the Magpies, scoring 23 goals in all competitions including a brilliant finish in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool to help his side end their 70-year wait for silverware.
His stunning form has drawn a number of admirers, including Arsenal and Liverpool, who are both in need of a new striker next season.
The 25-year-old has three years left on his current deal at St Jamesâ Park and says heâs happy where he is for now, but itâs been suggested that failure to qualify for the Champions League could mean his head is turned at the end of the season.
And Gary Neville claims Newcastle are going to have a fight on their hands to keep hold of Isak, before absurdly naming 13th-placed Manchester United as one of the clubs he would ânaturallyâ want to join.
âThey are going to struggle to keep hold of Isak, he is going to want to play somewhere else unfortunately itâs the nature of the beast,â Neville told Itâs Called Soccer.
âThey will lose those players unfortunately. The reality is Newcastle are a great football club and we didnât see that any more as we did on Sunday [at the Carabao Cup final].
âBut they will want to play for the Real Madrids, Liverpools, Manchester Uniteds and Bayern Munichs of this world, itâs just natural that these players will want to play at those clubs at some point, if they can.â
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Carragher dismissed Nevilleâs suggestion that United would be in the running for Isak, claiming Arsenal and Liverpool are the only viable suitors for Isak.
â100 per cent I think Isak stays if they qualify for the Champions League, I donât think they let him go anyway,â Carragher said.
âThe problem they do have is if they donât qualify. It doesnât really matter what happened in the cup final.
âI think the only two options at the moment would be Arsenal and Liverpool as theyâre both sort of crying out for a striker.
âI just look at how long heâs got left on his deal and the ball is in Newcastleâs court, itâs not really in Isakâs. I think once you get [down] to two years [on the contract], itâs almost a 50-50, no-one wants to allow a player to get down to 12 months.
âNewcastle could keep him for another year and say, âweâll see you then as weâre going to get the same sort of moneyâ. I donât think Newcastle gain anything by selling him now, unless that they have to.
âAnd that is why, if Newcastle get into the Champions League, thereâs no way Isak is leaving the club. even if he wants to. I think the club will say: âNo, do another 12 months and in a yearâs time we can make a few quid and you can move onâ.â
