Real Sociedad striker Alexander Isak has already ruled out a summer move to Premier League giants Arsenal, telling Panenka magazine that he plans to stay in Spain for the time being.
Let us here no more of that ‘new Zlatan Ibrahimovic’ tag.
In the rolling hills of the Basque country, 21-year-old Isak is making a name for himself in his own right, stepping out of Ibra’s sizeable shadow while knocking loudly on the door of the elite.
Isak found the net 17 times in 2020/21, firing Real Sociedad into the Europa League places along the way.
According to The Athletic, Arsenal are big admirers of a man who, like Zlatan himself, boasts the kind of velvet touch and balletic balance that belies his rangy 6ft 4ins frame.
But, with a £60 million release clause in a contract that runs until 2024, Real Sociedad are under no pressure to sell.
What’s more, Isak is in no rush to leave either. It seems that a mature and down-to-earth character does not share his compatriot’s wanderlust.
Is Arsenal a no-go zone for La Liga star Alexander Isak?
“I have a current contract and my plan is to stay at Real Sociedad,” he said, pouring a swimming pool’s supply of water on the raging fires of speculation (Diario Vasco).
Cadena Ser reported over the weekend that Arsenal had opened exploratory talks over a deal for Isak, with technical director Edu a huge fan of a player who burst onto the scene as a teenager in his native Sweden before joining Borussia Dortmund in 2017.
With just a year left on Alexandre Lacazette’s deal, the Gunners appear to be prioritising a new number nine this summer.
But, 20 years after a fresh-faced Ibrahimovic slipped through Arsenal’s fingers, it looks like Isak may be about to do the same.
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