After a transfer saga that went on for several months, Newcastle United have made the decision to sell Alexander Isak to Liverpool this summer, according to several reports.
The Sweden international will leave Eddie Howe’s side and move to Merseyside for a British record fee of £130m, including add-ons. It hasn’t changed much for the Magpies, who are still scrambling for a new striker on deadline day.
Newcastle’s Isak replacement
There have been several strikers offered to Newcastle this summer, with Nick Woltemade already in the door, and Yoane Wissa seemingly set to follow on a £55m deal before the deadline.
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Could a third centre-forward even be on the cards, however? According to TBR Football’s chief reporter, Graeme Bailey, one of the names being considered is Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface.
The Nigerian international is someone the North Eastern giants ‘have been offered’ as the window draws to a close, and have ‘held talks’ to sign him.
Boniface came close to joining AC Milan this summer, but his £25m loan, a price including the loan fee and buy option, fell through.
Why Boniface would be a good signing
At 24 years of age, Boniface is yet to his prime years, but has already proven to be a deadly striker for Leverkusen. He thrived under Xabi Alonso and was described as a “complete forward” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig.
Despite struggling with injuries throughout his career, the 13-cap Nigeria international has bagged 32 goals and assisted 12 in just 61 games. He is versatile, too, and despite excelling as a striker, can play off the left when called upon.
His best campaign in a Leverkusen shirt came in his debut season of 2023/24. That season, Boniface played 34 games in all competitions, finding the back of the net 21 times and assisting a further 10. To have a goal and assist-to-game ratio of almost one in your first season in one of the biggest leagues in Europe speaks volumes about his quality.
Well, if Boniface can even partly replicate what Isak did at Newcastle, then he will surely be a success. Even though he burnt bridges at the end of his time at St James’ Park, there is no denying the greatness on show from the Swede.
In 109 appearances for the club, the striker, who was born in Solna just outside of Stockholm, scored 62 goals and chipped in with 11 assists.
The most important goal he scored was surely against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final, to help guide Newcastle to their first trophy in decades.
However, Boniface has certainly shown the temperament in front of goal to be Howe’s new version of Isak, with the £25m man also a towering asset, like the Swede, at 6 foot 3.
The former Borussia Dortmund striker has not had a goal involvement ratio at St James’ Park as good as Boniface’s was during his first campaign at Leverkusen.
In fact, the underlying numbers from the past two seasons suggest he can step into his shoes with ease, too.
For example, Boniface averaged 0.77 goals and 0.38 goals per shot on target per 90 minutes. In the same timeframe, Isak has averaged 0.79 goals and 0.45 goals per shot each game.
Goals and assists
1.09
0.93
Goals
0.77
0.79
Goals per shot on target
0.38
0.45
Shot-creating actions
3.14
2.95
Gal-creating actions
0.63
0.43
If Newcastle can structure a deal to sign Boniface for a price of £25m, it seems like they would be getting a bargain. The Nigerian striker has some excellent underlying stats, showing just how good a goalscorer he is.
He could certainly be Howe’s own Isak as they go into a new era at St James’ Park.
