Former Newcastle United star ‘surprised’ by Alexander Isak amid Liverpool and Man United claims

Former Newcastle United star Jose Enrique was caught by surprise after Alexander Isak completed a record move to his old club.

The Real Sociedad and Sweden striker has been a long-term target of the United hierarchy but a deal looked out of reach due to the La Liga club’s demands for their prize asset.

However, with the summer transfer window deadline just a week away, and with growing concerns over Callum Wilson’s fitness, the Magpies resurrected talks over a possible deal for the 23-year-old.

A fee of around £63million was agreed and Isak officially became United’s record signing seven days before the end of another impressive window.

The striker made an immediate impact when he netted within 37 minutes of making his debut in the dramatic defeat at Liverpool and put in a lively display without finding the net on his St James Park bow against Crystal Palace.

Former Magpies left-back Enrique has expressed his surprise that Liverpool and Manchester United did not make a move for the Magpies new boy - but is ‘excited’ to see how he performs during his time on Tyneside.

He said: “I do a lot of lives on Instagram after games and I follow La Liga a lot, actually Isak was a player I was talking about over a year ago.

“I said he would be the perfect to compete with Firmino for a starting spot last summer, obviously it’s different now because Liverpool brought in Nunez.

“It’s a surprise to me because he’s already a player who has a lot of ability with the ball.

“He’s still young and he keeps getting better and better.

“The only slight doubt I have with him is his physicality, he has height, he can score with both feet and in the air he’s really good, but just maybe with his body, he just needs to build it out a little bit.

“I think that would help him compete with defenders a little bit more, but if he does that then I think he is going to be a very good player in the Premier League.

“But I am very surprised that someone like Liverpool or even Manchester United weren’t looking at him because they’ve needed a striker for a while.

“On the other side, it’s a very good signing for Newcastle and I’m excited to see how he does.”