There was plenty of excitement around San Sebastian-Donostia brought in Norwegian forward Alexander Sorloth.
The prospect of uniting large and large up front, partnering him with fellow Scandinavian Alexander Isak, was an entertaining idea. Perhaps uniting strength and pace more aptly explains the potential they had together.
Yet the excitement about both forwards has died down significantly over the course of the season. In the case of the Norwegian, the return has been a relatively meagre six goals from 39 appearances for La Real.
When he arrived from RB Leipzig, he had scored the same amount for the Germans, but La Real fans were hoping he could replicate his Trabzonspor form where he managed 33 goals in 49 appearances two years previously. With that potential in mind, the €16m buy option inserted into his loan deal seemed reasonable at the time.
According to Miguel Gonzalez of El Diario Vasco, Real Sociedad have passed up the opportunity to exercise it. His report asserts that the chance to do so expired two weeks ago, leaving Sorloth’s future up in the air.
It would mean that Real Sociedad would have negotiate a fee with Leipzig this summer should they wish to secure his services for next season. It’s entirely possible that this is a tactic to bring down that fee, but whether Leipzig would be willing to make much more of a loss on a player they paid €20m for just two summers ago remains to be seen.
Regardless of whether they go for the former Crystal Palace striker, it seems likely that Imanol Alguacil will take action to address their frontline in some shape or form in the summer. Only four teams have scored less than the Txuri-Urdin this season.
