Newcastle United: Alan Shearer interviews Alexander Isak

Another thing I asked Isak about is where he has come from, and how his background shaped him as a person and a player.

He grew up playing street football in the suburbs of Stockholm and there is still an element of that to his playing style now, with the way he caresses the ball and his dribbling ability.

His parents had to flee to Sweden from Eritrea and start a new life there, which tells you what they are made of and how tough they had to be.

There is a bit of steel about him too – maybe not when you look at him or talk to him, but certainly when he is out on the pitch.

Aggression is part of his game, the same as his skill on the ball or his intelligence to drop deep or make runs and stretch defences.

He can handle himself physically, and he is quite comfortable dealing with speculation about his future too.

I think he finds it complimentary that people are saying that other clubs want him because of how well he is doing, but none of that talk comes from him, and he is certainly not letting it affect his form.

He is clearly an ambitious guy who wants to play in the Champions League, but like the Newcastle fans who adore him, I am hoping he can fulfil those aims at St James’ Park.

I ended our chat by telling him to keep doing what he is doing, and joked that nine-year contracts seem to be in fashion for strikers at the moment.

It would be lovely to see him stay as long as that and help the team win some trophies, but I guess we will have to wait and see whether he listened to me or not.

Alan Shearer was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.