The new Ibrahimovic? But how good is Alexander Isak?

Sweden manager Janne Andersson watches a lot of promising young footballers as coach of the national team. Operating in the post-Zlatan Ibrahimovic era, it was always going to take something special, someone like Alexander Isak, to catch Andersson’s interest.

“I had the chance to see him in training one day this summer,” Andersson said of Isak, who this week joined Borussia Dortmund. “What an exciting player he is, he’s got great ability within himself, even though he is very young. He does so many good things. Sometimes you push these players to the forefront too quickly. But you know, I’d lie to you if I said his name hasn’t flown by in my thinking.”

Isak’s name was also in the thinking of Europe’s elite clubs. Dortmund battled the likes of Chelsea, PSG, and Real Madrid for his signature, with the latter heavily tipped to sign him before a late surge from Thomas Tuchel’s side. “Alexander is a great talent,” AIK teammate Chinedu Obasi told Expressen. “I don’t want to say too much, but he is extraordinary. He can become the new Zlatan Ibrahimovic.”

The comparisons with Ibrahimovic are certainly fair when you consider their achievements in Swedish football. Zlatan was sold by Malmo to Ajax for 82 million Swedish kronor (€8.3m in current money) back in 2001, at just 19. Fast forward 16 years and Isak has now become the most expensive Swedish player in history, with Dortmund spending around €9.5 million to bring him to the Westfalenstadion.

On the field though, the pair differ dramatically, especially as characters. “Zlatan’s arrogance and swagger was part of his charm, on and off the field,” former AIK teammate Kenny Pavey told Yahoo Sport UK. “Isak is a lot more calm, reserved. He’s just as confident but a lot more reserved.”

Born just outside Stockholm, in Solna, Isak’s parents emigrated to Sweden from Eritrea in the 1980s. A fan of Zlatan, Isak’s real idol remains Henok Goitom. Also born in Solna and of Eritrean ancestry, Goitom tipped Isak for bright things in 2015 when he tweeted about the teenager’s precocious talent.

Like Goitom, Pavey still remembers the first time he met Isak, and the photo he posted on Instagram afterwards. “There was him and two other young lads that came up to train with the first team as they do every now and again,” he said. “He just looked so young — the build and everything — they all did, but he was so tall. You could see he was a special player though, his movement, his intelligence.”

Credit to Isak, it did not take long for him to start displaying his precocious talent on the pitch. Netting on his full debut for AIK, he finished the season with a respectable 10 goals in 24 league games. Performing early into his national team career too, this month saw him become the youngest ever scorer for Sweden when he produced the opener against Slovakia.

“Isak is rewriting history and I am not surprised,” Andersson said afterwards. “I knew that he would do well. He is calm and incredibly stable. It’s been fun to get to know him.”

Dortmund fans will take similar delight in getting to know the teenager, with Isak seeming a perfect stylistic fit for Thomas Tuchel’s side. The striker prefers a more deep-lying role, and is eager to be involved in build up play. At AIK Isak has played with smart, mobile forwards like Obasi. In Dortmund, with talents like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus, he will find a similar style of player.

“If you see some of the goals he’s scored you’ll notice his first touch is really good,” Pavey said. “I remember [Sergio] Aguero scored a goal where the ball was cut back really hard and he had the first touch to take it away from the defender and score. Isak did it a couple of weeks later, but with a much harder pass, from a much tighter angle.

“The way he killed the ball dead, it was a special thing to see. His football brain too, his understanding of the game, and how he finds space are all really impressive. He doesn’t have to get into these physical duels because he’s got good enough and quick enough movement.”

It’s not just on the field that Isak is mentally sharp though. Sources close to the player indicated he chose Dortmund due to assurances over playing time compared to Real Madrid, where another precocious teen — Martin Ødegaard — has struggled to earn first team minutes.

“The fact that he was on the verge of signing for Real Madrid but chose to abandon that plan for Dortmund says something about his own power of will, at least in my mind,” Noa Bachner, football writer and columnist at Expressen, told Yahoo Sport.

“What makes me even more certain he’ll hack it is his composure. It’s not only visible when he’s playing, but in interviews and other moments that could appear stressful to a young player. Even though he’s been 16 turning 17 this season, he’s not been affected by the attention surrounding him at all. I think he’s been asked whether he ever gets nervous about 20 times now, but an example of such a situation is still missing.”

That anxiety may present itself when he steps out onto the field with Dortmund for the first time. A long way from his first day training with AIK’s senior team, it has been an exhilarating ride for Isak. However, if he can handle this latest transition as seamlessly as he did that one, then perhaps Swedish fans can really start to get excited about the teenager that caught Andersson’s eye.