Alan Shearer says he’d happily have £45m Arsenal player at Newcastle
Newcastle United have a striker issue right now, with Eddie Howe boasting just one fully fit centre forward.
Alexander Isak limped off during the Magpies’ Champions League loss to Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night. He suffered a reoccurrence of a groin problem, and looks set to miss Newcastle’s next few games.
That is a huge blow for Eddie Howe, who now only has Callum Wilson to lead the line. Now that normally would not be an issue, as Wilson is also an excellent striker. However, he has had his own fitness issues in years gone by.
Suddenly, Newcastle are totally reliant on their number nine. If he picks up a knock, the Magpies will have to improvise and play someone like Anthony Gordon through the middle.
Given what has happened over the past few days, it is clear that Newcastle should have brought in a third striker, and someone who Alan Shearer thinks would do a job at St James’ Park is Gabriel Jesus.
Alan Shearer would take Gabriel Jesus at Newcastle
The Toon legend has been speaking about the Arsenal number nine on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football podcast alongside Gary Lineker and Micah Richards.
The trio discussed what kind of level Jesus is at, after the Brazilian provided a wonderful assist and scored himself during Arsenal’s Champions League win over Sevilla on Tuesday night.
And while they agree that Jesus is not an ‘elite’ striker, Shearer has admitted that he would definitely have him at Newcastle.
Richards: “I want to ask you guys as strikers how good do you think Jesus is? Because I watched him a lot at Man City and I always thought he was a little bit below the real elite.”
Lineker: “I think that’s fair, I think he is a very good striker but what he gives you though is a terrific energy and work-rate and he’s also a very good player. He’s very good at the press which I think is important, his goalscoring record is pretty good overall, but is he a Haaland or a Kane or a Lewandowski? No, I think it’s fair to say that’s not the case. But if he stays fit he does a great job for Arteta’s side and he can play anywhere across the front line. So he’s below that level but you’d take him. You’d have him at Newcastle wouldn’t you, Al?”
Shearer: “I would agree with you. Yeah, because of where Newcastle are! I don’t think he’s elite, he’s not elite, but he’ll always get you goals when he’s fit and injuries have been a problem. But, yeah, I wouldn’t take anything back that you two guys have said.”
Arsenal striker would do well at Newcastle
While Jesus is not a top bracket centre forward, he is still a very talented player and someone who would be excellent at St James’ Park.
As Lineker says, the £45million man is brilliant at leading the press, which is exactly what Isak does on Tyneside. He is versatile too, which is a quality that Eddie Howe loves.
There is no doubt that he would fit in at Newcastle, which is why Shearer would happily see him playing in a black and white shirt.
However, that is as far as this goes. There is no talk of Newcastle being interested or Arsenal looking to sell. This is just Shearer playing fantasy football!
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