With 17 goals in only 22 Premier League matches this season, Alexander Isak is enjoying yet another excellent campaign and is one of the competition's best players. Dutch football expert Arthur Renard (@arthurrenard87) details the background of Newcastle United's lethal No 14.
He remembers the moment very well. After plying his trade for clubs like Celtic and Southampton, Jos Hooiveld returned to AIK in 2015 with whom he had won the Swedish Championship earlier in his career.
While in England, Dutch defender Hooiveld had faced distinguished strikers such as Sergio Aguero, Luis Suarez and Wayne Rooney, but when he was back at AIK preparing for the new 2016/17 campaign, he came across a young talent who he soon realised could also reach the very top.
“One day we were playing 11 against 11 in a big indoor hall,” recalls Hooiveld. “Prior to the game, I noticed a tall, skinny boy entering the hall. He was a 16-year-old striker and I was thinking: ‘well, he is young and probably fast – so I’ll have to run a lot – but probably not much of a threat in terms of football.’”
Early impressions
Soon, Hooiveld had to think again. The slightly-built youngster, called Alexander Isak, soon turned out to be technically very adept.
“Early on he got the ball on the side and slowed down," he recalled. "So I slowed down a bit as well. And then in one move, wappp! he accelerated with the ball at his feet, ran inside and scored. So we were suddenly losing 1-0!
“Well, alright, fine. But the next time, it was the exact same scenario. So there he was again – slowing down and easing off a bit, and I thought: ‘yeah, I'll just stay a bit ahead of you, otherwise the same might happen.’ But then, boom, bang – he cut inside, right behind me, and fired it in again, haha.
"We were 2-0 down after just 15 minutes. I was like: ‘what’s going on here?!’ That guy was really good. I take big strides while running, but so does he. He is really fast and so light on his feet; he bursts away while he keeps the ball really close to him.
"Later, after that first session, the coach came up to me and said: ‘Wow, impressive, isn’t he? We really think he’s going to be a big one.’ I said: ‘Well, so do I.’”
Soon after, the whole country could witness this budding talent, as Isak scored on both his official cup and league debut. In the Allsvenskan he started away at Ostersunds, managed by Graham Potter at the time.
Sweden was aware of the teenage sensation and the TV channel broadcasting the match requested an interview with the young Isak at half-time, with his side leading 1-0.
But Hooiveld intervened when he got wind of what was going on. “I was like: 'No, you’re going straight in, focus on the rest of the game, we need another goal.’ Later we got a bit of trouble from that as those interviews are mandatory, but I felt you shouldn’t interview a 16-year-old boy who has just made his debut.”
Coincidence or not, but it had the desired effect, as Isak scored within five minutes of the second half. "I remember walking towards team-mate Stefan Ishizaki and saying: 'Well, we were there for his first goal. This guy could become something special.’ That was a great moment. And after that, it was almost unthinkable that he wouldn’t start – he was already that good.”
Still, Hooiveld would take Isak for little drills away from regular training sessions.
“He was really tall and quite lanky, you know. And I had experience of working with other tall strikers, so we worked on his quick footwork in combination with core stability, so that if you get a ball from the air that you can hit it well.
"I’d also put a resistance band around him to help him build strength and stability, and I’d throw a ball to him which he had to play back – things like that.”
Hooiveld emphasises he doesn’t want to take any credit in his development, but just really enjoyed witnessing his early breakthrough.
“It was just fun to be working with him, because he was open to everything. He was a great kid—really kind, calm and from a lovely family as well. He was one of those players you just want to see succeed."
At AIK Isak became a regular straightaway. The biggest highlight in his debut season was his brace in the Stockholm derby away to Djurgardens, which happened to be on his 17th birthday.
In demand and breaking into the national team
It soon became apparent that Isak wouldn’t stay much longer in Sweden, as various European top sides were after his signature.
Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea were mentioned among several others, but in the end it came down to two options, as Isak explained to Voetbal International.
“There’s a difference between being interested and showing interest. In the end, to be honest, it really came down to two clubs: Dortmund and Real Madrid. BVB’s project appealed to me more. I was drawn to the club, it just felt like the better choice.”
Just before joining the German side he had become Sweden’s youngest-ever goalscorer in a win against Slovakia, who had his current Newcastle team-mate Martin Dubravka in goal.
And four days previously he became the second youngest player to represent his country when making his debut against Ivory Coast.
Isak plays for Sweden, but hails from Eritrea. Six years ago, when playing for Willem II in the Netherlands, he explained in Voetbal International how he had travelled to the country of his parents for the first time in the summer of 2018.
“It was only for a week, but it was beautiful," Isak said. "I visited a football school, kicked a ball around with the kids. Seeing how happy those people were, even for a moment… The love I got in return was truly special. Eritrea isn’t a wealthy country, many people struggle.
"So I’m really grateful that I can make a small contribution to their happiness. That week in Eritrea gave me a feeling I had never felt before. A smile is worth so much more than material things – being able to bring that to people is priceless.”
Perhaps inevitably, comparisons were made with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who also moved out of Sweden at a young age. Although very different in personality, both were extremely gifted as youngsters.
And both also needed an adjustment phase in mainland Europe. Where Ibrahimovic’s first year at Ajax was very challenging – he even came close to leaving the club – it also took Isak time before he experienced a breakthrough.
He played under a string of managers, starting with current England manager Thomas Tuchel. But he was young and not deemed ready for the big work. His highlight, perhaps, came in a cup match against Magdeburg, scoring and providing a goal in a 5-0 win.
Yet, the fact he didn’t play much was not easy. “Of course, I would have liked to play more,” Isak reflected in Voetbal International in 2019.
“The fact that it hasn’t worked out is difficult and frustrating, but also training at a world-class level has made me a better player.”
He was playing more regularly for the second team of Dortmund. That was also the case on 11 January 2019, when they played a friendly against Dutch side Willem II.
With 10 minutes to go Dortmund were trailing 1-2, but then came Isak to equalise, before current PSG defender Achraf Hakimi scored the winning goal in the 90th minute.
Willem II was impressed and went in for the young Swede. Isak was open to the move, even though it meant he was suddenly competing in the Dutch mid-table. Hooiveld had told him previously that a move to Holland could really benefit him.
“I talked to him a lot when he was getting a lot of attention,” reflects the former Dutch defender. “I advised him to go to the Netherlands, as it is a paradise for strikers. He went to Dortmund first, which of course was a fantastic step.
"When that opportunity comes, you just go. But after that, at Willem II, he went through the roof.”
Crowley: Isak had this aura about him
In Holland Isak became team-mates with Daniel Crowley, who came through the Aston Villa and Arsenal academy. The Englishman quickly realised they had signed a gem.
“We saw it straightaway, how he was as a person and a player. He was someone who knew how good he was, but not in an arrogant sense. He had this aura about him that he really knew his ability, he believed in himself. He is a humble and really nice guy, quite calm and quiet, like a silent assassin. When I saw him, I just knew: ‘he is gonna be really good.’”
And that proved to be the case. In Isak's first match, when he came on at FC Utrecht, he quickly showed what he was about, with Crowley becoming the match-winner himself.
“Someone played a ball behind their defence. It was a kind of nothing pass, it was just going to the 'keeper, but he [Isak] just sprinted after the ball and he was so quick that he got on the end of it.”
Isak became a regular and soon he was on a seven-match scoring run, including a penalty hat-trick against Fortuna Sittard plus two braces against De Graafschap and Heracles.
Also memorable was his winning goal in a 3-2 success at Feyenoord. “He chopped it past one defender, then another defender, before finishing it off past the keeper,” recalls Crowley. “His striking ability was the best I’ve ever seen - so powerful, so precise.”
Hooiveld agrees. “His finishing is indeed incredible, like his acceleration and dribbling ability. He has this nice dragging technique, but just his overall ball control and composure are absolutely top-class.”
Isak's time at Willem II was a catalyst, a kind of starting point from where he showed his goalscoring potential. Isak inspired the Dutch side racking up wins in the league, while he also helped them reach the cup final, as he scored a goal in normal time and in the penalty shootout against AZ in the semi-finals.
The team also included Vangelis Pavlidis, the Greek striker who recently scored a hat-trick for Benfica against Barcelona.
“We had a really good team, but Alex still changed that completely,” says Crowley. “We were maybe a mid-table side, we were not going to win the league or go down. But when Isak came it really changed everything. He was an amazing signing for us, like another level in terms of his pace, technical ability and scoring ability.”
Crowley, who currently plays for MK Dons, could see how Isak did it on a daily basis. “In training, he was unbelievable every day, so good.
"Like you saw his practices, small-sided games and he was just incredible. You could see he was there at Willem II to do what he did and then make a big transfer. I’m not surprised at what he is doing in the Premier League.”
Move to Real Sociedad
First stop was Spain, as Real Sociedad bought him from Dortmund in the summer of 2019 and he continued to impress, albeit at first he was more playing as a sub.
Isak's big moment came on 6 February 2020, when he inspired Sociedad to a 4-3 Copa del Rey win at Real Madrid, with two goals and an assist. They would go on and win the Spanish cup that season.
Current Arsenal player Mikel Merino, who was with Isak in Spain, explained to CBS in 2021 about Isak’s impact at the club.
“Right now he’s a big, big piece for us, he’s doing great he’s adapting really, really good here, everybody loves him in the dressing room.” said Merino, pictured below right.
“I have the luck of being with him in Dortmund as well, we were there together for six months and when he came here to La Real [Real Sociedad] I was really surprised. I was really happy to see him, and we could talk a lot about our time in Dortmund.”
Things continued to go well for Isak and in his second season he became the youngest player to score in five consecutive LaLiga matches in the 21st century. In the sixth match he sealed it all off in style with by producing a hat-trick against Alaves.
Later, just after Isak moved to Newcastle, Merino, who also had a spell at St James' Park on loan in 2017/18, told The Athletic: “His mindset is very good. He can adapt to whatever you tell him. When he came here [at Sociedad], he had to adapt to a very specific system of playing where he had a specific role to make an exact movement when the ball was in a certain position.
"Being from Sweden and being able to adapt showed how smart he is. With his abilities, his speed and strength, the Premier League is a good place for him.”
That is what the Swedish striker with Eritrean roots is showing week in, week out. And those who have worked with him in his early years are not surprised.
