Barcelona have reportedly set their sights on Alexander Isak, valued at €70 million by Real Sociedad, as an alternative for Lautaro Martinez.
According to a report by Spanish publication MARCA, Barcelona seem to be keeping their options open in case they fail to land Lautaro Martinez in the summer transfer window. Alexander Isak is now the subject of interest from Barcelona, although they are detered by the €70 million release clause in his Real Sociedad contract.
Barcelona are scouring the market for the ideal player to be the successor to Luis Suarez as the long-term central striker. So far, much of their attention has been on impressive young Argentine, Lautaro Martinez, who is believed to be the priority for the Catalan giants heading into the summer transfer window.
However, his steep €111 million buyout clause seems to be posing a lot of problems for Barcelona, who are reportedly not in the best of financial conditions. As a result, it has been mooted that the Blaugrana should look for possible cost effective alternatives for Martinez. One such option could be Alexander Isak.
Alexander Isak is a player who has received his fair share of hype despite being all of 20. Early into his senior club career, while still with boyhood club AIK, the Swede drew comparisons with Zlatan Ibrahimovic before joining Borussia Dortmund. Things did not work out for Isak at Dortmund and after a successful loan spell with Willem II, the 20-year-old was sold to Real Sociedad last summer.
The switch to Spanish football has been reasonably smooth for the young striker, who has played every single game for La Real, although he has started just 14 games so far. In 34 outings, though, he has a decent haul of 14 goals and 3 assists, making a direct contribution to a goal every 90 minutes. His progress seems to have been noted by Barcelona.
At 20, Isak does have his best years well ahead of him, and his development suggests he could be a risk worth taking. However, his €70 million release clause is posing a problem for Barcelona, who deem the figure as too expensive.
If Real Sociedad insist on Isak’s release clause being triggered in order to sell him, a move might never see the light of the day and Barcelona would hope to negotiate a lower fee. If not, they will have to set their sights elsewhere once again.
Having been linked with the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubayemang, Timo Werner and Donyell Malen among others, Barcelona do seem to have a decent shortlist of alternatives for Lautaro Martinez. What now remains to be seen is if the Blaugrana show any interest in paying Isak’s €70 million buyout clause, or if they look towards someone else in their bid to sign a striker.
