Praise has been heaped on a number of Newcastle stars after the Magpies recorded their 10th win in their last 11 games in all competitions on Saturday.

Alan Shearer in particular was impressed by Alexander Isak and Sandro Tonali after the pair both found themselves on the scoresheet against Southampton.

So much so, Shearer has named the pair in his Premier League Team of the Week and given his reasoning for their selection alongside some of the weekend’s top performers from Bournemouth, Liverpool and Everton.

“Just unstoppable at the moment”

In his latest Premier League TOTW piece, Shearer selected Tonali and Isak alongside the likes of Cody Gakpo and hat-trick hero Django Ouattara, with Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola selected as manager of the week after a stunning 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

Premier League Team of the Week: (3-1-3-3) Stolarczy (Leicester) – Konate (Liverpool), Tarkowski (Everton), Gvardiol (Man City) – Tonali (Newcastle) – Szoboszlai (Liverpool), Kluivert (Bournemouth), Damsgaard (Brentford) – Ouattara (Bournemouth), Isak (Newcastle), Gakpo (Liverpool). 

Discussing Tonali, Shearer emphasised just how important the Italian international has been to the Magpies’ recent run of form. “He was the driving force in the Newcastle midfield and took his goal superbly,” he said.

Later in the column, Shearer perfectly described Isak as “unstoppable”, with his latest brace taking the Swede up to 17 goals for the season.

“Just unstoppable at the moment,” Shearer added. “Another two goals, and he’s now only two behind Mohamed Salah in the race for the Golden Boot.”

Big praise coming from the now sole player to have scored more Premier League goals for Newcastle than Isak himself, with Isak (48) leapfrogging both Callum Wilson (47) and Peter Beardsley (46) at St. Mary’s.

First Names On The Team Sheet

It would be hard to deny that Isak and Tonali have been two of the most impressive players in the Newcastle squad this season, showcasing world class quality in their respective positions.

Despite Howe’s post-match comments on Saturday hinting that starting XI positions will become even more competitive between now and the end of the season, no fan would argue against listing Sandro Tonali and Alexander Isak as the very first two names on the team sheet for a long, long time to come.