The Kinesio tape on Alexander Sørloth’s right knee points to the remnants of an injury, something which would lower the performance of most players. Indeed, Sørloth’s training load has been reduced as a precaution. But despite this, the towering Norwegian has been in Real Sociedad’s starting eleven week in, week out, and for good reason.
Sørloth’s offensive threat has been crucial to Real Sociedad’s run of eight consecutive wins. With a goal in each of his last four games, according to Transfermarkt, the Scandinavian striker has been propelling an injury-riddled side forward as the third-place team in La Liga aims for a ninth win in a row against Rayo Vallecano this Saturday.
Eleven goals in all competitions, seven of them being in La Liga, cement Sørloth as the top scorer in his team above Brais Méndez and Robert Navarro.
Mundo Deportivo highlights the Norwegian’s impressive ratio of a goal every 143 minutes this season, which would place him as the striker with the best scoring rate in the club’s history. Including Sørloth’s 2021-22 campaign, he maintains a ratio of a goal every 198 minutes, which is better than that of club legends such as Carlos Vela and Mikel Oyarzabal.
Sørloth’s four consecutive goals have come against Sevilla, Osasuna, Almería, and Athletic Club. In two of these games, against Sevilla and their Basque rivals, he was the one to open the scoring.
If the man of the moment manages to find his way onto the scoreline in his next two games, he’ll equal a club record currently held by some of the club’s most well-known strikers John Aldridge, Darko Kovačević, and Alexander Isak. However, this will prove no easy task with the next matches being away trips to Rayo Vallecano and Real Madrid.
Real Sociedad’s difficult debate
Sørloth’s situation at the club is nothing short of an interesting one. He was loaned to La Real by RB Leipzig for the 2021-22 season and returned to the German side to begin the current Bundesliga campaign. However, after the departure of Isak to Newcastle, the Basque outfit looked to the Norwegian once again in order to fill the gap in their attack.
Sørloth is now on another season-long loan. There is no buy option in the contract, so his current team would have to negotiate with his parent club for the transfer. Seeing the striker’s stellar performances, it seems more than likely that La Real will push for an agreement for his transfer.
On the player’s side, Sørloth would be delighted to remain at La Real, he told Mundo Deportivo in an interview back in December. He was waiting all summer for the Basque club’s call and has expressed a deep affection for the city, its people, and its football.
GSFN | Nicolás Antúnez de Mayolo
