Few shirts in English football weigh heavier than Newcastle’s No.9 and once again, two of Europe’s star strikers could be set to contest it.

Callum Wilson vacated the iconic Magpies strip upon his Toon exit, in stark contrast to how Les Ferdinand was forced to do 19 years ago.

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The pair shared a similarity in the way they worked their way up the football pyramid before becoming Newcastle’s number nines.

Wilson’s successor for the shirt has always appeared to be destined to be Alexander Isak, who is already among the best around.

The Swede has scored 62 goals in 109 appearances for Newcastle since his £63million arrival from Real Sociedad in 2022.

Isak has led the line at St James’ Park with the No.14, digits made famous in the Premier League by his idol, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.

And the 25-year-old has already played down the prospect of changing his squad number on Tyneside.

When asked about potentially becoming Newcastle’s next No. 9 on the Adopted Geordies podcast earlier this year, Isak said: “I would probably stay as 14 to be honest.

“I know [No. 9 is iconic], I think it’s a difficult one because I’ve been successful with 14, and it would probably not be an easy decision.

“I understand [the pressure to wear the No. 9 shirt], but we’ll see.”

Isak may have been diplomatic as Wilson was still a teammate then, but a switch hasn’t been announced despite pre-season starting.

As a result, Newcastle could use it as a bargaining tool in their pursuit of Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike this summer.

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The Frenchman currently wears the No.11 in the Bundesliga, which is occupied by winger Harvey Barnes in the north-east.

At €90m (£77m), Ekitike would surpass Isak as the club’s record-signing, and possibly in the pecking order for the nine shirt as well – if Chelsea don’t get to him first as some at the club fear.

Newcastle fans could be forgiven for experiencing a sense of déjà vu from the last time that happened with Ferdinand and Alan Shearer.

The Magpies smashed their transfer record to bring hometown hero Shearer to the club in July 1996.

As is the case with Isak and Ekitike, the club’s plan was for the Premier League’s all-time scorer to play alongside their leading marksman.

However, Ferdinand, who scored 29 goals in his first season with Newcastle, was the proud holder of the No.9 shirt that Shearer coveted.

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During his appearance on talkSPORT’s ‘My Sporting Life’ podcast, Ferdinand said: “[Kevin] Keegan pulled me and he said to me, ‘Look, I’m not trying to prove anyone wrong here, but I honestly believe that you and Alan will make a formidable partnership.

“‘So don’t listen to anything you hear. You’re staying here at Newcastle,'” Ferdinand recalled was said to him.

“I went, brilliant. He said, ‘There’s only one thing.’ I said, ‘What’s that?’

“He said he’s asked for the number nine shirt. I replied, ‘And what did you say?’ And he went, ‘Well, I said I’d ask Les’. Look, Alan’s worn number nine all his life.

“I said, ‘Well, so have I’, and he went, ‘I didn’t realise that’, but you realised Alan did.

“My relationship was never the same with Kevin Keegan,” Ferdinand continued, “because one year you’re saying to me, I’m the best striker in the league.

“And then the next year, you’re coming and asking for the most iconic shirt at this football club. So then, now I stop believing in what you’re saying.

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“Yeah, so it did change our relationship. Was I bothered by it? I mean, it was really funny because we were on a trip to the Far East for preseason.

“None of the boys had known we’d signed Alan until we landed. And then obviously there was this world record fee, and Alan’s parading the number nine shirt. So all the boys have gone, ‘What’s going on here?'”

Ferdinand joked that his Newcastle teammates were all panicking that he would take their number after revealing what had happened.

Lo and behold, that proved to be exactly what happened – against Ferdinand’s wishes, as he attempted to take the vacant No.23 shirt.

He added: “I’m a big Michael Jordan fan. So I went, boom, done, I’m 23.

“So then, anyway, Kevin Keegan pulls me and he says, look, the board have come on and they said they want you to have a number between one and 11.

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“I said, tell the board I did have a number between one and 11, and they decided to take it off of me.

“So now don’t come and tell me I’ve got to have a number between one and 11.

“Then he said to me, ‘Look, Lee Clark is leaving, and it looks like Lee Clark is going to Sunderland, so the number 10 is available.’

“I went, I am not taking Clarky’s shirt, because myself and Clarky lived in the same building.

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“We were on the top floor, he lived on one side, and I lived on the other.

“He and Steve Watson were the guys that looked after me when I went to Newcastle, took me around, showed me the ropes, I thought, there’s no way I’m taking his shirt.

“Then Keegan said he was leaving, and he didn’t leave at the time, not straight away anyway.

“So we didn’t speak, getting into the lift for a couple of weeks, because I had the number 10 shirt, but he was alright after that.”

Despite Ferdinand (16) and Shearer (25) scoring a combined total of 41 Premier League goals in the 1996/97 campaign, Newcastle fell short to Manchester United in the title race for a second year running.

That would be the pair’s only season together on Tyneside as Ferdinand joined Tottenham for £6m the following summer.