Lethal Alexander Isak is rapidly becoming the Premier League’s best striker

The more you watch Alexander Isak – the way he plays the game, the goals he scores, the more regularly you see him alter the course of matches and define their outcomes – the easier it gets to call him the best striker in the Premier League.

Certainly on current form, there is nobody matching Isak’s performance levels. He is a joy to watch, a player to savour and for Newcastle United to celebrate for as long as they can.

The way he runs with the ball, his gangly frame, all long legs and arms, gliding over the grass, the clinical finishes with either foot, when he is given a sight of goal.

Whether he is playing through the middle or cutting inside from the left – something he and Anthony Gordon switch between to keep opposition defences guessing – he is so difficult to contain. The fact he can play either role equally well makes him all the more difficult to stop.

Isak has scored 23 goals in just 36 games in his second season at Newcastle and has become the club’s first player to score in seven successive home games since Alan Shearer.

There is no longer any debate on Tyneside – the 24-year-old is the best striker to have worn the black and white stripes since Shearer retired 18 years ago.

Others have shone brightly briefly – Demba Ba, Papiss Cisse, Loic Remy and, of course, his current Newcastle teammate, Callum Wilson. But Isak is world class and proves it consistently. He deserves to be talked about alongside the global elite, although Newcastle will not entertain any talk of him leaving. Not at the moment. Hopefully not ever, but certainly not yet.

They are likely to agree a new contract with their £63million signing in the next few weeks, even though his current deal still has four years left to run, to ensure he moves alongside Bruno Guimaraes as a top earner.

The message is clear, he is not for sale this summer. But that is unlikely to dissuade teams from trying. Football is ruthless and rivals will do their best to unsettle the Sweden international, with reports of interest from Arsenal, among others, already circulating.

“I think he’s world class,” said Newcastle manager Eddie Howe. “I’m not sitting around analysing all the other strikers in the world, but the biggest thing is, I wouldn’t swap him for anyone.

“When you look at his age profile and what is to come, his attributes and his qualities, he is superb.

“It’s a shame for me and probably for Alex that there are these questions about his future. I understand why the questions are asked and the better he does, the more goals he scores. that will be a thing [that is asked] but we should just enjoy his performances and the way he is playing now.”

One of the most impressive things about Isak is he scores all types of goals, from tap-ins to headers. But it is the first goal he scored against Sheffield United that encapsulates how dangerous and deadly he can be.

Newcastle had been poor. Indeed, there is a strong case to make that this was as bad as they have played at home this season. Sheffield United were cutting through their midfield and exposing the lack of pace in their defence. The home crowd were restless. Trailing after Anel Ahmedhodzic’s header, Newcastle were all over the place.

And, then from nothing, Isak scored, running on to a well weighted through ball from Jacob Murphy, with a perfectly timed run, drilling the ball low into the far corner.

That settled the home side down and what followed showed why Sheffield United are going down. Newcastle scored five and could have made it into double figures as they ran riot in the second half. Isak got his second from the penalty spot and the only slight disappointment by the end was that he missed out on his first hat-trick for the club.