Sweden’s Aleksander Isak was unveiled in Newcastle on Friday. (Photo: Newcastle United)
The goal he scored against Barcelona on Sunday at the Royal Arena in San Sebastián and which only served to lighten the 4-1 defeat was the last one that, at least for now, has shouted. aleksander isak with the shirt of the Basque team, since the English Newcastle, the new rich man of the Premier Leaguehas paid out $ 70 million to maintain the Swedish international striker’s services, further demonstrating the power of the hosts who took over the club less than a year ago.
“I am delighted. It was a very important decision and one that I am very happy about. This is a historic club that everyone would want to play for, with incredible fans. They were a big part of why I came here. And the club’s project as well. , in which I really believe “, explained the 22-year-old forward, who will wear the number 14 shirt in this new adventure.
Son of Eritrean parents, born in Solna, on the outskirts of Stockholm, on 21 September 1999, Isak introduced himself to the public in February 2020, when he scored two goals, provided an assist and had a stunning performance in the match that Real Sociedad beat Real Madrid 4-3 at the Santiago Bernabéu for the quarter-finals of Copa del Rey.
Before joining Gipuzkoan’s team in July 2019, he had played in AIK from his hometown (with which he debuted in the first division at the age of 16), in Borussia Dortmund German (although Thomas Tuchel didn’t give him too many opportunities) and in William II Furthermore, at just 17 years and 109 days, he made his debut with the Swedish national team on 8 January 2017 in a friendly that the team led by Janne Andersson lost 2-1 to Ivory Coast in Abu Dhabi.
His speed, his dribbling and his 44 goals in 132 games for Real Sociedad (He also made 9 in 37 matches with the national team) earned him this step in the Premier League. He is an exceptional talent, capable of making a great contribution to the team. Technically he is very good, with a mix of attributes that will complement us. And he’s in a great age to keep growing, ”praised his new coach, Eddie Howe.
In an extremely active market (consultancy firm Deloitte reported Thursday that all 20 Premier League clubs had already invested 1.8 billion euros in wire transfersrecord for the summer period) and still missing six days, Isak’s pass has been one step away from the podium of transfers to England in recent months: only that of Uruguayan Darwin Núñez, from Benfica to Liverpool (100 million euros) , and those of the Spaniard Marc Cucurella, from Brighton & Hove to Chelsea, and of the Brazilian Casemiro, from Real Madrid to Manchester United (both for 71 million euros).
Isak is not the only reinforcement Newcastle have added to this recruitment window, which has former Estudiantes defender Federico Fernández in the squad. Previously he had acquired the services of the Dutch Sven Botman, from the French Lille (he paid 37 million euros); Aston Villa winger Matt Targett (17.5 million) and England goalkeeper Nick Pope of Burnley (11.5 million).
Those 136 million euros paid out they place it as the fifth club that has invested the most in this marketwell behind Chelsea (201.6 million) and also behind Nottingham Forest (152 million), Manchester United (143 million) and West Ham United (139 million), but ahead of heavyweights such as Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal.
Also in January, during the winter market (traditionally less active than the summer one), the Magpies had invested a lot: they had paid 42 million euros at Olympique de Lyon for the Brazilian Bruno Guimarães, 30 million at Burnley for the New Zealander Chris Wood, 15 million at Brighton & Hove Albion for central defender Dan Burn and 14 million at Atlético de Madrid for the English national team Kieran Trippier. What is striking is that, then as now, not even a ticket from the sale of footballers entered his treasury.
How is your economy doing then?
Thanks to the very strong injection of money made by the conglomerate that in October last year bought the club from the north-east of England and whose majority component is the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabiawhich invested 327 million dollars to keep 80% of the share package (another 10% went to the investment group PCP Capital Partners and the remaining 10% to brothers David and Simon Reuben).
The PIF, which manages assets in various branches for approximately 500,000 million dollars, is chaired by Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, who is the Deputy Prime Minister of his country and also holds the positions of Minister of Defense and President of the Council for Economic Affairs and Development and of the Council for Political and Security Affairs. Furthermore, he is the first in line of succession since June 2017, when his father, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, removed his nephew Muhammad bin Nayef from the position of crown prince.
The Saudi monarchy (one of the main allies of the United States in the Middle East) and above all Bin Salman have been questioned by various organizations for the violations of human rights committed in the territory of that country. Such criticisms have been heard in the UK when the PIF announced the purchase of Newcastle.
Most of the Magpies fans did not care so much about these issues and favored the situation of their team, which when the Saudis landed was penultimate in the last edition of the Premier League. After reinforcements arrived in January, he improved his performance and finished the season in 11th place. In the current campaign, they have one win and two draws.
Source: Clarin
