An early piece of Newcastle United team news has emerged on Alexander Isak ahead of the club's return to Premier League action tonight.

What's the talk?

Matt Hardy, of The Times, has confirmed that the Sweden international will be available to feature against Liverpool at Anfield in the top-flight, as the Toon look to continue their unbeaten start to the campaign.

He Tweeted: "Breaking: told Home Office has now issued a visa for Alexander Isak. Expected to play tonight for NUFC at Liverpool."

This comes after he signed for the Magpies from Spanish outfit Real Sociedad last Friday and was ineligible to play in the 1-1 draw with Wolves as he had not received his visa in time.

Big boost

Isak's availability should come as a big boost to manager Eddie Howe as the forward has the potential to be a major upgrade on Chris Wood in the number nine position.

Callum Wilson is currently out injured with a hamstring issue and that left the New Zealand international as the club's only natural centre-forward for the trip to the Midlands.

He struggled badly in the game and was unable to make any real impact at the top end of the pitch, which sums up his Newcastle career as a whole so far.

The striker only had 13 touches of the ball and lost 80% of his individual duels, whilst failing to score or assist, before being substituted.

Since joining the club from Burnley in January, Wood has scored two goals - one from open play - and has not registered a single assist in 21 Premier League matches.

He has been unable to provide consistent quality at the top end of the pitch this year and his statistics suggest that he is unlikely to be a difference-maker for the club against Liverpool, which is why Isak's availability has come at a good time.

The former Real Sociedad forward scored 24 goals in La Liga from the start of 2020/21 up until his move to St. James' Park. This shows that he has the potential to offer more than the ex-Claret in terms of his ability to finish chances that come his way, which could be useful against a Liverpool side that only conceded 26 goals last season.

He also created ten 'big chances' for his teammates in that time, which shows that he can offer link-up play and creativity alongside his goalscoring. Whereas, Wood provided three 'big chances' during his time at Burnley and Newcastle in the same timeframe.

Therefore, having the option to select Isak from the start could be a huge boost for Howe as the striker may be able to offer a lot more to the team than the New Zealand attacker.