Clock ticking for Alexander Isak as Dream Team’s third-most popular striker blanks again

FEW Dream Team managers would doubt Alexander Isak’s (£3.9m) general quality but those who used a transfer to recruit the Newcastle striker after Gameweek 1 have been pitifully repaid.

The 23-year-old was a relatively popular selection before the season got underway and a 15-point haul against Aston Villa on the opening weekend led to massive surge in popularity.

He was the second-most popular transfer target ahead of Gameweek 2 but he’s been unable to add to his goal tally since that brace at St James’ Park.

In fact, Isak has mustered just nine points between Gameweeks 2 and 5 with eight of those coming as appearance points.

Most concerning is the fact he’s registered just one shot on target in his last four games.

This dip in form is particularly notable as the Sweden international remains the third-most popular striker Dream Team has to offer at the time of writing.

His ownership of 18.1% is only bettered by cream-of-the-crop assets, Mohamed Salah (£6.6m) and Erling Haaland (£8.2m).

Gameweek 5 felt like a breaking point of sorts for Isak owners.

He didn’t feature at all at home to Brentford on Saturday with his direct replacement, Callum Wilson (£4.2m), scoring the Magpies’ winner.

Picked to start at San Siro for Newcastle’s long-awaited return to the Champions League, Isak had little impact on the game as the visitors were put under sustained pressure by Milan for the majority of the game.

In a Gameweek when several key players will make the most of the additional European fixture, the Toon’s tall forward produced just two points.

Some of Isak’s backer’s may be tempted to give him one last shot at redemption in Gameweek 6 as Eddie Howe’s side travel to Sheffield United on Sunday (before hosting Manchester City in the Carabao Cup in midweek) but the clock is ticking at a deafening volume.

To draw an unflattering comparison, Julian Alvarez (£4.3m) started the season at the same price as Newcastle’s No14 but the contest has swung dramatically in the Manchester City forward’s favour since Gameweek 1 concluded.

The World Cup winner has plundered 59 points in total having taken Red Star Belgrade for 21 just moments after Isak had drawn a blank in Italy on Tuesday night.

In total, 17 strikers have more points to their name than Isak at this stage, a list that includes the likes of: Zeki Amdouni (£2.3m), Jean-Philippe Mateta (£2.5m), Matheus Cunha (£2.4m).

It’s impossible to justify his popularity given the undeniable statistics.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk