With Alexander Isak making his move from Sweden to Germany to play for Borussia Dortmund and Victor Lindelöf linked with many moves to several clubs around Europe, especially Manchester United, Sweden seems to be producing some incredibly talented young players. Sweden is not known to be a soccer powerhouse, as the only real soccer icon they have produced in the past 17 years is Zlatan Ibrahimović. Both Isak and Lindelöf have proven themselves within the past year, and are still proving that they might be a part of Sweden’s golden generation of future talent.
Isak has been dubbed the “next wonderkid” in world soccer, and at only 17 years of age, he has already signed for one of the world’s best clubs, Borussia Dortmund. Isak rejected big offers from clubs like Real Madrid, and in my opinion, he made the right choice. Dortmund is a club well-known for developing youth players into incredible players. With young players like Christian Pulisic, Emre Mor, Ousmane Dembélé, Felix Passlack, Raphaël Guerreiro and Julian Weigl, Isak looks set to be developed into a superstar and be a part of the bright future of the Dortmund team.
Before his move to Dortmund, Isak gained attention while playing in the Allsvenskan, Sweden’s top division, playing for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (AIK) Fotboll. Since his debut in 2016, Isak has 10 goals in 24 appearances for the Swedish side. For a 17-year-old, that’s pretty impressive. He has even been called “the next Zlatan” by former teammate Chinedu Obasi. His speed and technical ability has compared him to Dortmund’s very own Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but Isak isn’t the only young Swedish prospect that has been capturing the attention of some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Victor Lindelöf has been circulating the news outlets of England this January, as he has become Manchester United’s biggest target. The 22-year-old Swedish defender has been drawing attention to himself for his rock solid performances in defense with SL Benfica in the Primeira Liga, Portugal’s top division, and on the international stage with the Swedish national team. Lindelöf started his career at Västerås SK Fotboll, a small team from Västerås, Sweden, that resides in the Division one Norra, Sweden’s third tier league. He had his debut at age 16, and also helped Västerås gain promotion to the second division in Sweden, which prompted scouts from clubs all over Europe to start offering for his services. Lindelöf played two seasons in Sweden and eventually moved to Portuguese club SL Benfica in 2012. There, he developed with the B team for four years, became a vital player in Sweden’s Under-21 side that would win the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) European Under-21 Championship and play in Sweden’s Euro 2016. Lindelöf’s debut for the first team came in 2016. Since then, he has taken the place of Benfica’s club legend Luisão at center back and has had some great performances in both the Portuguese league and the Champion’s league. These impressive performances have even earned him the nickname “the iceman” by his teammates at Benfica.
Both Isak and Lindelöf have shown great potential to become great players respectively. Both Borussia Dortmund and SL Benfica are well-known for developing youth players into superstars, so it will be exciting to see how their careers turn out. As of right now, it seems like both players are off to one hell of a start.
Luke Stergiou can be contacted at Lstergiou@kscequinox.com
