The 2022 summer transfer window saw Newcastle United splash the cash to snap up Real Sociedad sensation Alexander Isak, with the Swedish striker joining for a club-record fee of around £63m last August.

Despite the initial excitement surrounding that deal, it has proven a rather frustrating start to life at St James' Park so far for the 23-year-old, with injury having cruelly denied the towering marksman the chance to establish himself in the team.

The former Borussia Dortmund ace has so far been restricted to just five appearances in the Premier League for the Magpies this season, with only three of those having come from the start, albeit while still scoring three goals in that time.

Amid those struggles, the 6 foot 4 starlet has also been described as 'too lean' by pundit Stan Collymore, who wrote in his CaughtOffside column that he has doubts over whether Isak - or fellow Magpies forward Callum Wilson - can truly be relied upon to deliver the goods for the Tynesiders.

The former Liverpool striker stated: 'They both have their own attributes to offer, but I’m just not sure either player is the type to wear the iconic number nine shirt and bag 20-plus goals a season.'

Newcastle may well be ruing their inability to secure another centre-forward target last summer, with Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport having only recently revealed (via Sport Witness) that Newcastle had seen a bid of around €100m (£89m) rebuffed for Napoli's Victor Osimhen.

That potential transfer blunder will no doubt rankle with Eddie Howe and co, such has been the Nigerian's rampant run of form so far this season, having appeared almost "unstoppable" for the runaway Serie A leaders according to journalist Mimi Fawaz.

An undisputed "goal machine" - as previously lauded by the Evening Standard's Nizaar Kinsella - the 24-year-old has helped power Luciano Spalletti's side to the summit this term, scoring 16 goals in just 17 league games.

While the former Lille marksman's goal conversion rate of 23% is lower than Isak's (30%), Osimhen also provides the benefit of his creativity in attack, having chipped in with three assists in the Italian top flight, while the current Magpies forward has none to his name so far this season.

Although it may be somewhat difficult to compare the two due to Isak's injury woes, their differing form is also illustrated by the fact that, while the Swede has an average Sofascore match rating of just 6.78 in the current campaign, Osimhen boasts a far more impressive rating of 7.28.

The latter has seemingly enjoyed a fruitful spell wherever he has been in his career to date - after bagging 18 goals in just 38 games during his time in France, and 20 goals in 36 games for Belgian outfit Charleroi - with it looking as if the top-four hopefuls missed out on a player who is almost guaranteed to fire.

Of course, there is still ample opportunity for Isak to earn a consistent run in the team and prove his worth, although at present the inability to secure a deal for Osimhen may well be a sore point for Newcastle.