Everyone knew Newcastle United was betting on Alexander Isak’s potential when they opted to pay €60 million on him.
Although his time at Borussia Dortmund wasn’t precisely what he hoped, the Sweden international showed more of himself in Spain. He has been tipped since he was a little child.
Because he is widely regarded as the next potential great after Zlatan Ibrahimovic, which can also be a problem, Newcastle purchased him, and Sweden as a footballing nation expects so much of him. Simon Bank for Aftonbladet explains why.
The journalist expresses his true feelings about the forward, whom he thinks has what it takes to match the former Manchester United striker, in an opinion article without holding back.
Everyone is aware of that, which presents a dilemma because it prevents him from fully showcasing his talent. Zlatan also struggled with this issue.
No other Swedish player, according to Bank, now possesses a “whole combination of world conquering qualities” like Isak.
The player can ‘become nearly anything’, so ‘why not’ join Real Madrid in a year?
The issue is that Sweden simply isn’t “that kind of team,” therefore he can’t repeat what he did at Newcastle toward the end of last season.
As evidenced by the matches against Belgium and Austria in the spring of last year, when he plays for them, he ends himself alone.
His supporting midfield struggled, forcing him to compete for long balls, which isn’t his strong suit.
However, it’s ‘difficult to constantly do it’. There are reasons to be made that Isak could try a little more when this occurs, like Zlatan did a few times.
The Newcastle player, according to Bank, “needs to get better at dribbling one or two balls with intelligence or trickery” and engage in more duels.
He might also require a partner, which Viktor Gyokeres can offer and which Isak himself has suggested might be a viable option.
In short, it’s about ‘handling different kinds of matches’ for Isak, and adapting to what happens around him, because, as Bank explains, when ‘he gets what he needs, then he is a world class player’, but when he doesn’t ‘then he has to get better at doing things he’s not the best at’.
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