Arsenal target ‘dreams of’ Barcelona transfer in the summer

Alexander Isak is a man in demand in the transfer market despite his mixed campaign so far for Real Sociedad.

The 22-year-old Swede, who came close to signing for Barcelona last summer, is again on the agenda of several top clubs including the Catalan giants, along with Premier League side Arsenal.

Barça are looking at the former Borussia Dortmund forward as a Plan B in case they miss out on the signing of primary transfer target Erling Haaland.

As for Arsenal, they are set for a revamp in their strikeforce before next season. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang already left the Emirates in January to end up at Barcelona, where he is thriving.

In addition to that, both Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah are out of contract at the end of the season and will be departing as free agents. Having spent the entire transfer window chasing the signing of Dusan Vlahovic, who ended up joining Juventus, Arsenal have shifted their focus to Isak.

However, as per a report from The Sun (h/t SPORT), the Gunners are finding it hard to convince the Swedish international to move to north London as the striker ‘dreams of’ a transfer to Barcelona.

Arsenal are believed to have been in negotiations with the centre-forward’s camp to work out a transfer. However, their energy and enthusiasm is not matched by Isak, who is waiting on a potential switch to Camp Nou.

However, that might prove difficult to transpire. Firstly, Joan Laporta & co. are prepared to go all out in their pursuit of Haaland and will only look at Isak as an alternative in case their efforts to sign the Norwegian prove futile.

Furthermore, the 22-year-old is contracted with Real Sociedad until the summer of 2026 and has a massive release clause worth €90 million. Meeting that valuation, as things stand, is out of the question and negotiating a lower fee with La Real could prove to be tricky.