Barcelona to step up Alexander Isak pursuit
By Tom Gott
Barcelona are keen to sign a new striker in the summer and have intensified their interest in Real Sociedad's Alexander Isak.
Having sold Luis Suarez to Atletico Madrid last summer, Martin Braithwaite is Barcelona's only out-and-out striker in the squad, although Ronald Koeman has usually preferred to play Lionel Messi there anyway. Must be nice.
Lyon's Memphis Depay has been touted as a potential option, but ESPN claim that Isak's name has been regularly brought up in conversations about the club's transfer strategy, with scouts hugely impressed with the 21-year-old.
Isak has been on Barcelona's radar ever since he broke through as a teenager in Sweden back in 2017. He joined Borussia Dortmund that summer but started to find his feet after joining La Real in 2019.
Club scouts have watched him score 12 goals in 20 appearances so far this season and believe he would be able to fit into Barcelona's system quite easily, given the similarities between the two sides' playing styles.
Alexander Isak scores again! ?
— Premier Sports ? (@PremierSportsTV) February 21, 2021
That's 7 in 6, and 6 consecutive LaLiga games with a goal for the young Swede ? pic.twitter.com/pRHIULTRH5
He comes with a £60m release clause, although Dortmund have the option to re-sign him for £26m, and Cadena SER believe they could do just that if they lose Erling Haaland this summer, even if it is just to sell him on for profit.
Barcelona aren't exactly loaded with money right now, although presidential candidate Toni Freixa has claimed that he has an agreement with an investor who will hand the club over £200m in transfer funds if he wins the election. speculatively suggesting that he could sign both Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe.
He told RAC1: "Barça will sign two different stars in attack and a defender that will help us compete at the highest level. It is possible to bring Haaland and Mbappe to Camp Nou."
It's probably not worth getting too excited about Freixa's claims just yet. Out of the three candidates, he is thought to have the slimmest chance of winning the election, with both Joan Laporta and Victor Font well ahead in the polls.
Whoever assumes the role is expected to make signing a striker one of their top priorities in the summer. Haaland and Isak are on the radar, but the club are looking at a number of options to present to the new president.