Alexander Isak

Alexander Isak (born 21 September 1999) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Newcastle United and the Sweden national team.

Isak scored 10 goals in all competitions that season, where Real Sociedad ultimately finished 6th in La Liga.

On 26 August 2022, Isak signed for Premier League club Newcastle United on a six-year contract which runs until June 2028 worth £6,240,000 per year (or £120,000 per week), for an undisclosed fee, reported to be more than $70 million, which would be a club transfer record.

On 31 August, he scored a goal on his debut and was named man of the match in a 2–1 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield.

Following a 1–1 draw with Bournemouth, where he scored a penalty, Isak was sidelined for 16 competitive matches due to a hamstring injury, he returned to the squad to play the first half in the FA Cup third round tie to Sheffield Wednesday.

On 15 January 2023, he scored his first goal after the injury in the 89th minute in a 1–0 victory over Fulham.

Isak scored his first brace for Newcastle on 17 March in a 2–1 away victory against Nottingham Forest, the second goal being a penalty in stoppage time to win the game.

On 23 April, he scored another brace within two minutes in a 6–1 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Starting off his professional career with AIK in 2016, Isak represented Borussia Dortmund and Willem II before signing with Real Sociedad in 2019.

In 2022, he signed with Newcastle United for a club record fee.

Isak made his first-team debut for AIK on 28 February 2016, appearing as a substitute in the 75th minute of the Swedish Cup away match against fourth-tier side Tenhults IF.

At age 16, Isak scored a goal in the 6–0 victory.

On 7 April 2016, AIK head coach Andreas Alm included Isak in the starting lineup on matchday 2 of the Allsvenskan in an away fixture against Östersunds FK, alongside fellow young striker Carlos Strandberg.

He secured the victory for his side, scoring the second goal in a 2–0 win, thus becoming the youngest scorer for AIK in Allsvenskan history at the age of 16 years and 199 days.

On 25 April, Isak scored his first goal at AIK's home ground, Friends Arena, opening the score in a 2–1 victory against IF Elfsborg.

On 3 May 2016, Isak signed his first professional contract through the end of the 2018 season, having impressed in his first few games, and establishing himself as a first-team regular.

Between matchdays 8 and 9, head coach Alm was sacked, but Isak was confirmed in the lineup by new manager Rikard Norling.

On 21 September 2016, Isak's 17th birthday, he scored two critical goals in AIK's 3–0 derby win over arch-rivals Djurgårdens IF.

He was later described by teammate Chinedu Obasi as "Sweden's new Zlatan Ibrahimović".

Isak won his first medal with the club when Dortmund won the 2016–17 DFB-Pokal, only appearing once in the tournament, and not being in the squad for the final.

A full Swedish international since 2017, Isak has won over 40 caps for his national team, and represented the side at UEFA Euro 2020.

He is the youngest-ever goalscorer for both AIK and the Swedish national team.

Isak was born to Eritrean parents and raised in Solna Municipality, in central Stockholm County.

He started playing for the youth team of one of the largest clubs in the area, the Allsvenskan team he supports, AIK, at age six.

On 23 January 2017, Isak signed for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund on a long-term contract, lasting until the summer of 2022.

The transfer fee was undisclosed, but reports suggested that it was set at €9 million, which would be the highest transfer fee ever paid for an Allsvenskan player at that time.

Before signing with Dortmund, Isak reportedly turned down a move to Real Madrid.

Isak made his first appearance for the club in a 3–0 cup win over Sportfreunde Lotte on 14 March 2017.

He scored his first competitive goal for Dortmund in a 2017–18 DFB-Pokal second round win against 1. FC Magdeburg on 24 October 2017, scoring the second goal in a 5–0 win.

After making no appearances in the 2018–19 Bundesliga season for Borussia Dortmund, Isak was loaned to Dutch Eredivisie club Willem II.

On 28 February 2019, he scored the equaliser and the winning penalty against AZ Alkmaar in the semi-finals of the KNVB Cup, helping Willem II reach the Dutch cup final for the first time since 2005.

On 30 March 2019, he became the first player ever to score three penalties in an Eredivisie match, in a 3–2 win against Fortuna Sittard.

On 14 April 2019, Isak became the first foreign-born player in the Eredivisie to score 12 goals in his first 12 league games.

On 12 June 2019, Isak signed a five-year deal with Real Sociedad, joining the La Liga club on 1 July 2019, in which he scored his first goal in his first game.

He strongly continued the pre-season, scoring four goals in five games.

Isak scored his first competitive goal for Real Sociedad in a 3–1 La Liga win against RCD Espanyol on 22 September 2019.

On 6 February, Isak scored two goals and made one assist in the Copa del Rey quarter-final against Real Madrid.

On 9 February, he scored the winning goal in the Basque derby against Athletic Bilbao.

On 3 April 2021, Isak won his first silverware with the club when he started and played in 89 minutes of the 2020 Copa del Rey Final in a 1–0 win against Athletic Bilbao, helping Real Sociedad win the 2019–20 Copa del Rey.

He scored his first hat-trick for the club on 21 February 2021 in a 4–0 league win against Deportivo Alavés, becoming the first Swedish player to score a La Liga hat-trick since Henry "Garvis" Carlsson did the same for Atletico Madrid in 1949.