Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has made it clear that he intends to keep star striker Alexander Isak for as long as possible. The 25-year-old Swedish international, who holds the record as the Magpies' most expensive signing at £63million, has netted 19 goals this season and is rumoured to be on the radar of clubs like Arsenal and Barcelona.

The upcoming face-off between Isak and Manchester City's Erling Haaland, who boasts 27 goals this season, will not only draw comparisons but also highlights Newcastle's need to hold onto their top scorer. When quizzed about Isak's importance to the club's future success, given his contract runs for another three and a half years, Howe responded: "We have to try and keep our best players.

"That’s crucial to our short-term success and our long-term success, so sitting here as the manager of the football club, I’d be saying we need to keep the group together and we need to add the other way. We haven’t added [to the first team] in a long time in various transfer windows for the reasons we’ve all discussed. But we need to move the team forward and we can’t lose our best players."

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Isak's impressive form, with 18 goals in his last 21 appearances, has been instrumental in Newcastle's recent upturn, propelling them to their second Carabao Cup final in three seasons and within striking distance of the top four. Howe will need him to be at his best again at the Etihad Stadium if his side are to end a near 25-year wait for a league win at City.

When pressed to pick between Isak and Haaland, Howe said: "I’m sure Pep would give the same answer – I love working with Alex and I wouldn’t swap him for anyone.

"We’ve got a good relationship and he’s got a good relationship with his team-mates. We’ve tried to help him by moulding our style of play to suit his game. I really respect Erling, obviously, and what he’s done in his career is unbelievable, but we really love Alex."

Arsenal, meanwhile, go into their weekend clash against Leicester City with no recognised centre forward. Kai Havertz has been ruled out for the season after sustaining a hamstring injury in the club's warm-weather training camp in Dubai, while Gabriel Jesus is out with a knee injury. Isak has been linked with the Gunners in recent years and football.london understands Mikel Arteta is a fan of the frontman. The north Londoners may explore a deal to sign the Sweden international in the summer, but any deal is likely to cost north of £100million.