Barcelona identify priority alternative to Haaland
Martin Macdonald
- Updated: 18 Mar 2022 09:18 GMT
- 3 min read
Barcelona's transfer priority this summer remains the acquisition of Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian is one of the hottest properties in world football due to his exploits for the German giants, developing into a goalscoring machine.
Over the last 12 months, every elite club in Europe has been linked with Haaland at some point, including Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain as well as Barca.
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The Blaugrana are not in a healthy state financially, but are still hoping to put a package together that would allow them to sign Haaland and pay his big wages.
They do face stiff competition, though, particularly from Real Madrid and Man City, so contingency plans are required.
Indeed, FootballTransfers reported this week that Barcelona may actually be out of the race to sign the player.
Should they fail to sign Haaland, they will turn their attentions to Real Sociedad centre-forward Alexander Isak, according to El Nacional.
Isak's future could be intrinsically linked to that of Haaland, as there are clubs that have been linked to both players.
How good is Isak?
The young Swede burst onto the scene at AIK in his homeland, where he scored five goals in just 12 league games. It wasn’t long before Dortmund came calling, but his first big break perhaps came a little too soon; after just five Bundesliga appearances and no goals, and despite an incredibly successful loan at Willem II in Holland during 2018/19, Isak joined La Real.
His career has utterly thrived in San Sebastian, where he scored 38 goals in his first 100 appearances. His height, power and technique have blended together in the way many predicted, and he could be set for a move to another elite side in the future.
At international level, he is recognised as the future of Swedish football and the attacking heir to Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
In the 2020/21 campaign, he put himself on the map with 17 goals scored in 30 La Liga starts.
His goalscoring has dropped in the current season, as he has found the back of the net on just four occasions in the league.
But, Isak's potential is recognised and he has shown previously he has the quality to be a frequent goalscorer in Spain.
