Swedish striker Alexander Isak has joined Newcastle from Real Sociedad for a stunning £60m, but what should the Magpies expect from Isak?
The Swedish starlet was seen as a generational talent, coming through Borussia Dortmund’s incredible youth academy. He moved to La Liga in 2019 and has played a vital role in helping the recent rise of Real Sociedad from mid table fillers to European challengers.
Isak is a very unique striker, standing 6’4” tall, but very quick and technical for a guy of his height. He’s very strong in the air, but also a clinical finisher with both feet. He’s not afraid of shooting on either foot, and it’s often difficult to tell which is his strong foot.
Isak was wanted by many giant clubs, such as Barcelona and Arsenal for an expected £90m back in January, but after a disappointing 21/22 season, his value has went down; which is a big advantage for Newcastle.
Despite scoring 6 goals in 32 games for Sociedad in the 21/22 season, the talent is there. He scored 17 goals in 34 appearances in the 20/21 season, a big part of this being the increased support from winger Mikel Oyarzabal. Oyarzabal missed a majority of the 21/22 season due to an ACL injury, and this drastically effected Sociedad’s creativity. With elite creators such as Saint-Maximin, Almiron and Joelinton in Newcastle’s squad, getting chances to score shouldn’t be an issue.
Isak is still only 22 years old, and has many years left him in to improve. Although it’s no doubt a hefty price tag, it should work out really well for Newcastle in their potential resurgence over the next few seasons.