Manchester City struggled to replace Sergio Aguero in 2021 and ‘explored’ a number of strikers before Pep Guardiola was left with Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden in attack.
City failed to sign Harry Kane in 2021 and opted against Dusan Vlahovic over the summer, but Pol Ballus and Sam Lee of The Athletic noted that the Sky Blues also looked Alexander Isak.
The 23-year-old scored 44 goals with eight assists from 131 games at Real Sociedad and was on the radar of many clubs. City were initially one of them but deemed him not good enough. Isak went on to join Newcastle United and has scored two goals from three games this season.
Erling Haaland turned out to be a better acquisition for City, even if they had to wait a year, scoring 23 goals with three assists from 18 games in his first season at the Etihad Stadium, so Pep Guardiola will be pleased City didn’t rush to sign a replacement striker when Aguero was released.
Isak had only scored six goals from 31 league games in his final season at La Real, so he wasn’t prolific enough for a side chasing domestic and European honours. And with an asking price of £63m, Isak would have cost more than Haaland without his scoring record justifying the fee.
In other news, Kyle Walker gives injury update ahead of England v USA
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