According to The Sun, Barcelona are out in the market searching for Robert Lewandowski’s replacement and they have set their sights on Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak.
Lewandowski was brought by Barcelona in 2022 but this marquee move has not been a great success. The forward, personally, has done pretty well, scoring 53 goals in 89 appearances for the club but his contract is up in 2026 and Barca cannot afford to hand him a new deal.
The La Liga side are amidst a massive financial crisis which is why they will have to sell some valuable players in the summer. Robert Lewandowski’s name might not be on the list right now but since they are searching for a new striker, chances are they could cash in on the 35-year-old. He reportedly earns €26 million per year so offloading him will relieve a lot of the wage burden for the upcoming campaign.
Lewandowski saw super success in Germany with Dortmund and then Bayern Munich but he’s not been able to replicate that same form in Spain. Obviously, age has not been on his side and this season, the frontman has netted only 13 goals in the 2303 minutes that he’s been on the pitch during the La Liga games.
It won’t be a surprise if Barcelona decide to sell him at the end of this season and someone like Alexander Isak won’t be a bad choice.
Barcelona are obviously banking on the fact that Newcastle United will need to sell some players in order to balance their books but even in pure footballing terms, Isak is not bad at all.
He joined the Magpies in 2022 and since then he has been scoring at 0.5 goals per game. Last season, he netted 11 goals in 29 appearances and this time around, he’s scored 17 Premier League goals already. In 24 league games this campaign, he has an xG of 15.90 and it’s identical to Lewandowski’s stat in the La Liga.
Unlike Robert who is going to turn 36 in August, Alexander Isak is only 24 years old which is also a big positive.
The Swedish international is contracted with Newcastle until 2028 and as per rumours, he is one of the players who’s untouchable in the squad. Having said that, NUFC are trying very hard to avoid an FFP breach and in order to achieve that, they will have to generate substantial revenue by selling some players in the summer.
Isak is currently valued at €70 million and if the Magpies do decide to sell him then they will quote anywhere between €90-100 million for the striker and that’s something Barca just cannot afford.
Barca will have to follow the 1:1 rule in the summer which means every new player they buy will have to come from existing player sales and it’s not practical for them to sell two or three top players just to sign one Alexander Isak.
In terms of quality, the 24-year-old has had two successful seasons in the Premier League so he can be confident about replacing Robert Lewandowski. Also, a call from Barcelona will be very tempting for the former Real Sociedad player but the finances are just not in favour of the Catalans.
