Newcastle United have been blessed with several terrific centre-forwards over the years at St. James' Park, ranging from the legendary Alan Shearer, to Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse, to Alexander Isak in the current day.
The Toon Army have had the pleasure of watching some superb goalscorers and scorers of great goals, particularly in the modern era, and two of them currently play for the first-team.
Callum Wilson, who scored 18 Premier League goals last season, and Isak, who has been on fire since his move to the club in the summer of 2022, are both fantastic centre-forwards for Eddie Howe.
Unfortunately, the Sweden international's sublime form has led to reported interest from elsewhere and he may now follow in the footsteps of Andy Carroll, who came through the academy before being sold for a gigantic fee after showcasing his goalscoring quality.
The Magpies struck gold with the England international as they cashed in for a mouth-watering amount of money, particularly when you adjust for the inflation of transfer fees in football over the subsequent years.
Andy Carroll's goalscoring record for Newcastle
The Gateshead-born number nine came up through the youth ranks on Tyneside as he graduate through the academy, which meant that the club did not have to pay a penny in transfer fees to sign him.
He made a smattering of first-team appearances during the 2006/07 campaign, with seven outings across the Premier League, UEFA Cup, and FA Cup, before being sent out on loan to Preston North End for the first half of the following season, where he scored one goal in 11 Championship games.
Over the subsequent 18 months, Carroll scored three goals in 18 Premier League appearances for the Magpies as they were eventually relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2008/09 season.
That drop down to the second tier allowed the centre-forward to thrive as he produced a stunning 17 goals and 12 assists in 39 league matches, including 33 starts, for Newcastle.
It was his real breakthrough season at senior level with a consistent supply of goals and assists from a centre-forward position to propel his hometown club back to the top-flight at the first time of asking.
Carroll was then able to make the step up to the Premier League with a sensational return of 11 goals and three assists in 18 starts for the newly-promoted side during the first half of the 2010/11 campaign.
This meant that the Newcastle star, who averaged a WhoScored rating of 7.54 for the Magpies that term, had plundered an eye-catching 28 goals and 15 assists in 51 league starts in 18 months.
His sensational form in front of goal, as a regular scorer and creator of goals at both Championship and Premier League level, attracted interest from elsewhere, and Liverpool swooped in to sign him in January 2011.
How much Andy Carroll's move to Liverpool would be worth today
Per Totally Money, the English giants splashed out a whopping £36.9m to sign the then-22-year-old from Newcastle ahead of the second half of the season.
Totally Money have taken the 100 most expensive transfers of all time across each season since 1992 in Europe's top five leagues. Armed with plenty of historical financial data they have calculated what footballers of yesteryear would be worth in the present day after taking into account the remarkable rate of inflation.
As per their index, which adjusts for inflation in football since the original fee was paid, that deal for Carroll would be worth a mind-boggling £101.6m in 2024, which highlights how big of a move it was for the academy graduate at the time.
Newcastle struck gold with that transfer for multiple reasons. Firstly, they brought through an academy star for £0 and turned him into a mega-money asset, who also helped them with his superb goalscoring exploits on the pitch.
Secondly, his form after moving on from St. James' Park in 2011 suggests that they hit the jackpot by cashing in on the centre-forward when they did.
2010/11 (Liverpool)
7
2
0
2011/12 (Liverpool)
35
4
3
2012/13 (Liverpool & West Ham)
26
7
4
2013/14 (West Ham)
15
2
5
2014/15 (West Ham)
14
5
1
As you can see in the table above, Carroll struggled badly in front of goal in the five seasons after his exit from Newcastle, for the aforementioned staggering fee.
The 6 foot 4 giant produced 11 goals and six assists in 58 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool before they eventually sold him to West Ham in the summer of 2013 for a fee Totally Money's index has valued at £28.8m in today's money, and £15.7m at the time.
This shows that Newcastle hit the jackpot with the towering centre-forward as they cashed in on him at the perfect time, before his value plummeted by over £70m in 2024 money within less than three years.
Interest in Alexander Isak
It was recently reported by Football Insider that Premier League giants Arsenal, who are currently in the race to secure the title, are interested in Newcastle forward Isak in the present day.
The outlet stated that they are under pressure to abide by the division's financial obligations due to their spending in recent windows, and that they may have to cash in on the Sweden international if they want to make a splash in the market to improve their squad.
This means that the £63m club-record signing from Real Sociedad could be the next Toon marksman to make a big-money move to another Premier League side, as Carroll did when he made the switch to Anfield.
Like the English striker, Isak has proven his quality in the Premier League for the Magpies with his fantastic performances in front of goal since his move to the club.
Appearances
22
20
Starts
17
17
xG
8.30
10.93
Goals
10
12
Big chances missed
5
12
As you can see in the table above, the 24-year-old dynamo has scored 22 goals in just 34 league starts for Newcastle in less than two full seasons at the club so far.
He has overperformed his xG by roughly three goals, which speaks to the Arsenal target's efficient finishing, and it is easy to see why there is interest in his services ahead of the summer transfer window.
Howe may want to keep hold of his star forward but if an offer that is too good to refuse comes in, as was the case with Carroll, then the Magpies could have to entertain the idea of selling him.