What were you doing aged 17? We’d guess ‘not choosing between three of the biggest clubs in European football’ is a common answer to that particular poser.
But, as has become apparent to everyone who watched in awe as Isak Bergmann Johannesson left defenders twice his age red faced, this is no ordinary teenager.
Even before his 18th birthday, Johannesson may be the most exciting attacker in the whole of Swedish football at the moment.
The son of former Burnley midfielder Joey Gudjonsson, Johannesson was born in Sutton Coldfield but made in Scandinavia. In 29 senior appearances, the fresh-faced wing wonder already has 11 assists to his name.
No wonder some are comparing him to a young Gareth Bale. And no wonder scouts are descending like a plague of locusts on IFK Norrkoping’s Östgötaporten arena.
According to Expressen, Liverpool are interested. Of course they are. The masters of the transfer market pride themselves on snapping up future superstars before they make it big.
“The interest is huge and it is no secret,” Norrkoping chief scout Stig Torbjornsen tells Fotbol Direkt, with the Swedish outfit demanding £7 million for their prized asset.
“It is clear this is an extremely interesting player and many (clubs) show a great interest. This happens when a player is at a nice age and plays for a good club.”
Norrkoping may be a “good club” but it seems only a matter of time before Johannesson is on his way to a giant one.
Juni Calafat, Real Madrid’s talent-spotter extraordinaire, has the Iceland U21 international in his sights – and Los Blancos usually back their chief scout with a sizeable wad of cash.
It was Calafat who convinced the 13-time European champions to invest big fees in teenagers Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo Goes, Fede Valverde and Reinier Jesus after all.
Defensa Central reports Real Madrid have had their eyes fixed firmly on Johannesson for a while.
And it’s no secret president Florentino Perez has given up his Galactico project in favour of a cost-cutting strategy that revolves around Europe’s next generation of superstars.
Whether Johannesson takes the Martin Odegaard route to Real remains to be seen.
He may be a Manchester United fan but, speaking to Aftonbladet, Johannesson admits he’s fond of Liverpool too.
“You can’t say (that I will not sign for Liverpool),” he says with a laugh. “They’re playing good football now. Liverpool have been great.”
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