Before Erling Haaland exploded onto the scene, there was another Scandinavian centre-forward on the watchlist of almost every scout on the continent.
No fewer than 90 of them travelled to the Boras Arena in 2016, to see a 17-year-old Alexander Isak lead the line for AIK Stockholm in an Allsvenskan clash with Elfsborg. Among them were representatives of Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Ajax and, intriguingly, Sunderland (Expressen).
“I don’t have much to say,” the teenager reflected, clearly quite bemused about the sheer level of interest. “I didn’t know about it, but it’s quite fun!”
Flash forward to August 2022, the final week of a hectic transfer window, and Isak is closing in on a club-record £60 million move to Newcastle United; The culmination of years of gradual improvement and from a man labelled the ‘new Zlatan Ibrahimovic’ during his formative spell in the Swedish capital.
Newcastle United paying club-record fee for Real Sociedad’s Alexander Isak
It was perennial talent-spotters Borussia Dortmund who would eventually take a punt on Isak back in 2017. Making the then-teenage Isak the most expensive export in Allsvenskan history. By that time, Sunderland were a Championship club; any hopes they had of luring Isak to the Stadium of Light extinguished by that dismal season under David Moyes.
Isak, meanwhile, would never get his chance in a star-studded Dortmund frontline then featuring Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. That was despite a remarkable 14-goal-in-18-game spell on loan at Willem II in the Eredivisie. And a couple of stellar years in Spain mean this feels like a rare oversight from a Dortmund side who don’t often get it wrong. At least, when it comes to talented, up-and-coming superstars-to-be.
A £60 million statement signing
The irony of his impending £60 million move to the Saudi-backed Newcastle United, however, is that the 2021/22 season was actually Isak’s least prolific since his days back home in Sweden (The Times). Then again, this is hardly a Real Sociedad side brimming with creativity.
And Isak’s sublime solo goal against Barcelona weekend should Newcastle supporters licking their lips in anticipation. A centre-forward of his searing pace and stylish finishing could be almost unstoppable on Tyneside; especially when presented with the kind of silver service Bruno Guimaraes can provide.
“He is fantastic,” Sweden coach Janne Andersson said after a particularly exhilarating Isak performance at Euro 2021. “And he is not finished yet as a player.”
‘Fantastic’ already, not not even close to being the finished article. All those scouts who travelled north to watch a baby-faced Isak back in 2016 can afford to feel vindicated. Right from day one, it felt inevitable that Isak would one day be costing someone a colossal transfer fee.
That ‘someone’ just happens to be Newcastle United.
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