Eddie Howe wants even more from in-form Newcastle striker Alexander Isak.

The 25-year-old Sweden international took his goal tally for the season to 12 in the 3-0 Boxing Day win over Aston Villa at St James’ Park, 10 of them in his last 10 Premier League games, after a challenging start to the new campaign.

Isak managed 25 goals in a black and white shirt last season to further justify the club record £63million the club paid to bring him to Tyneside from Real Sociedad during the summer of 2022, but as delighted as he is with his big-money signing, head coach Howe is confident there is even more to come.

Asked where the former AIK Solna frontman currently ranks in world football, he said: “My biggest thing with Alex is I am evaluating his game on a daily and weekly basis and I just want to try to push him for more.

“Everyone else can say where he is in the pecking order of world football. His game is in a good place at the moment.

“My job is to not sit back and appreciate that, my job is to try and find areas he can improve, push him towards that and never stop pushing him. He has all the ingredients in there. Football never stops evolving and changing and he has to evolve with it.

“There is a lot more to come from him. Our job is to help him deliver that.

“Of course the main responsibility is for Alex to keep his focus, ignore the plaudits and keep helping the team, not be selfish. It is about Newcastle and he plays his part.”

It is no coincidence that Newcastle have prospered as Isak has rediscovered his best form, and they will head for Manchester United – where they have won only once in the top flight since 1972 – on Monday evening looking for a fifth successive win in all competitions.

He has scored in each of the last five league games having grown into the mantle of the Magpies’ main man, a role performed with such distinction in the past by the likes of Jackie Milburn, Malcolm Macdonald and Alan Shearer, and he has done so with the minimum of fuss.

Asked about his character, Howe said: “He is calm, cool – he is what you see on the pitch.

“He doesn’t get overly emotional, which for a striker is a great quality because that coolness you see and calmness in front of goal is part of his personality, part of what he is. He seems to have an extra half a second when other players don’t.

“With Alex, the beauty of his attitude is that he wants to improve. We give him information and he is responsive. He is not a closed shop.

“He is in no way thinking he has arrived at a certain place. He knows he has to keep adding to his game. The challenge is great for him to keep scoring freely as he is now.”