Soccer / sweden

Newcastle United have completed their transfer-record breaking transfer of Sweden's international striker Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad for a fee believed to be £58M plus achievement-related bonuses with the striker signing a six-year contract: After being strongly linked with a move for the Swedish international who starred at The Euros earlier in the window, Newcastle were put off by what they believed was an exorbitant £75M transfer fee but after Callum Wilson pulled a hamstring injury in Sunday's 3-3 draw with Man City, the club's transfer team led by Football Director Dan Ashworth acted decisively to land the big gun striker they wanted in this window: The 6ft 4in striker has scored 77 goals in 192 games at club level for AIK, Borussia Dortmund, Willem II and Real Sociedad and he has notched 9 goals in 37 goals for his native Sweden and impressed on the international stage without scoring at Euro 2020.Sweden international legend Zlatan Ibrahimovich gave Isak a hearty recommendation of Newcastle United when the young protege asked him about the move and gave him a ringing endorsement of being the perfect player to awaken the ultimate sleeping giant:“Ale [Isak] called me when they [Newcastle] were interested. I told him that they were THE sleeping giants & he could be the one to wake them! He has the heart of a Lion - soon they won’t talk about Zlatan and Henrik as the greatest [Swedes] but instead, Isak!”Possessing pace, electric direct dribbling skills, hold up & aerial power, the ability to conjure something out of nothing, Isak is the complete centre forward for Newcastle's new era and his goals and play will take the club to places they haven't been since Sir Bobby Robson was manager and Champions League nights were a regular occurrence at St James' Park: An excellent thread by Newcastle fan, scout & analyst @NUFCSanjay describes Isak as:"a unique striker - a target man, a runner and a technician rolled into one. He’s a strong ball carrier, has quick feet, and is sharp across the turf despite standing at 6”4. He’s skilled at connecting midfield to attack, and tends to be very fluid positionally."and his thread is a must read on what Newcastle fans can expect from the most expensive player in the club's history: Isak's £60M fee eclipses the £40M fee Newcastle paid for Joelinton in the summer of 2019 and another former record Newcastle signing Alan Shearer, whose £15M fee in 1996 was a world record transfer when it happened, was on hand at St James' Park to pass the baton onto the man who will spearhead Newcastle into a glorious future: