Isak will be a target for manyIsak will be a target for many
Isak will be a target for many | Getty Images
Arsenal have competition from within the Premier League for one of their prime striker targets.
Arsenal could face some serious competition in their bid to land one of their prime striker targets this summer. The Gunners will go into the summer desperate for a new frontman having been left without any senior striker options for the second half of the season.
Gabriel Jesus was lost to injury for much of the calendar year in January, and a month later, Kai Havertz was lost for the season with a significant hamstring issue.
Arsenal’s title race has faded quickly in the absence of strikers, and they won’t want to find themselves in that situation again next term. It’s already clear that Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko are the preferred options, and according to Fabrizio Romano, Isak is the primary option.
Newcastle, who just won the Carabao Cup and are bidding to qualify for next season’s Champions League, won’t want to sell their star striker, and if they do, it will be for a huge fee, likely more than £100million.
But that might not put off a club like Arsenal who are desperate for a new frontman, and there could also be others interested, even within the Premier League. According to Romano, likely next Premier League champions Liverpool are also interested, and have already made contact over a possible deal.
“Big, big proposals will come for Isak,” Romano said on his YouTube channel. “Arsenal will be there, Sesko is the other name on the list, but for sure Sesko and Isak are the main names. Liverpool are also there for Isak and they have already made some contact with the people close to the player, so both clubs are interested in Alexander Isak.
“For Arsenal, he is the absolute top target, For Liverpool, he is one of the names they are considering in the position. We will see what Newcastle want to do. They insist on continuing with the player, but we know when there is important money on the table, it moves things and there is Financial Fair Play and these sorts of things.”
Missing out on Isak to Liverpool would be a monumental double blow for the Gunners, with the Swedish striker having scored 19 Premier League goals this season, and only three of those have been penalties. Newcastle hold the cards at this stage, but a sale of more than £100million could go some way in easing any FFP concerns over the next few years.
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