Newcastle United star up against Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa men for Premier League award

Alexander Isak has been nominated for the Premier League player of the month award for March after three goals in three games for Newcastle United.

The Magpies’ record signing inspired their comeback against Nottingham Forest last week as he volleyed home superbly to level the scores after Newcastle had fallen behind via Emmanuel Dennis' opener.

The Swede then kept his cool to tuck away a penalty in second-half stoppage time as Newcastle ramped up the pressure on top-four rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Isak has been plagued by injury since joining Newcastle. He made just two starts in March but scored in both games after opening the scoring in a 2-1 victory over Wolves.

He made an instant impact for Eddie Howe’s side as he scored on his Premier League debut with a fine goal at Anfield in a 2-1 loss to Liverpool.

The 23-year-old has six goals in just 10 appearances and looks set to be a key figure for the Magpies if they can keep him fit.

Speaking about the player earlier this month, Eddie Howe said: “I think he’s a different player to anyone we have in the squad. He has really good versatility to his game - I think he could do a bit of everything, which is a great asset for us to have in our frontline.

“I think he brings a different dimension, but every player has their own strengths and uniqueness which makes the team slightly different.”

Isak is up against two Arsenal stars for the award with Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard also nominated. Liverpool’s Mohammed Salah, Tyrone Mings of Aston Villa and Brighton’s World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister are the other men in the running.

Of the forwards up for the award, Salah and Saka both have three goals and two assists in March, although the Arsenal star has played a game more.

Trossard has five assists, helping Arsenal to four wins from four this month, while MacAllister has continued his fine form with two goals and one assist. Mings has an assist to his name while also helping Villa keep two clean sheets, with the club winning two of their three games this month.