PHOTO: Bildbyrån
The offensive national team trio Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyökeres and Dejan Kulusevski are attracting a lot of attention internationally.
Center back Isak Hien sneaks a little under that radar.
Then he is still relevant for Atlético Madrid.
Isak Hien praised again and again by the national team captain Jon Dahl Tomasson. The Dane offers powerful descriptions such as:
– He eats strikers for breakfast.
Hien is lining up strong performances with Atalanta in Serie A. Most recently, he was awarded man of the match in the 2-0 win away to Stuttgart in the Champions League. Shortly before that he got Romelu Lukaku exchange.
Atalanta scored 3-0 at Napoli away and are shadowing the league leaders, a point behind.
The hyena is now being hunted
Statistics show that Hien is among the league’s top 10 defenders in terms of tackles won and possessions won. He also has high percentage numbers in the passing game.
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According to several Spanish media, he arouses the interest of Atlético Madrid. Atalanta is said to have raised the value of the national team defender. The price tag is now around SEK 450 million. Hien is under contract until 2028.
He himself keeps a low profile, but states:
– I’ve had some good matches, feel fit and I hope I can take it with me.
Isak’s honest words
He’s also downplaying all the praise lately.
– It’s a sign that you’re doing well, but at the same time it’s like that in football that it’s a bit slow at times. It’s nice to get attention, but it doesn’t speak for the performance in itself. It’s fun but not really important, he says.
READ MORE: Jon Dahl Tomasson gives new information about Anthony Elanga in Sweden
Have you stepped up to a new level as a player?
– Hard to say. I also had a good season last year. It was a bit special then because I made a move in January. There I felt that I took a step and raised myself a notch from the time in Verona.
– I hope I took another step after the summer, but it’s hard to speculate and it’s early in the season. I’m coming off a month of good matches but what I’m trying to find is to maintain that level and be consistent in my game.
Ahead of the group final against Slovakia on Saturday, he will learn from the meeting in Bratislava in October.
– I think we can take a lot with us from there, both good and less good. I think most of it is actually good. We make a good match overall. We play better than Slovakia, but if it’s 2-2, you don’t deserve to win in any way.
– We have to accept that we lose our lead and that we concede goals we don’t want to concede. We have to check those details and work from there, says Isak Hien.
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READ MORE: Alexander Isak’s powerful tribute to attacking colleague Viktor Gyökeres
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