Emil Forsberg – The Frozen Swede
After a subpar season at RB Leipzig given the standard he set a year ago when he signed with the German side, and after a somewhat unexpected run with the Swedish national team in the World Cup reaching the Quarterfinals, the Swede is one of the guys on the radar of more than one potent European club. Barring Victor Lindëlof–already at Manchester United–, Emil looks like the next Swedish about to make the big leap.
The year 2016 finished for Forsberg with a participation on the Euro national competition played in France, where Sweden couldn’t advance to the knockout stage and he, as one of the most recognizable faces of the team, ended being criticized. Luckily for him, RB Leipzig had brought him from Malmö at the start of the season to the Bundesliga 2., where he helped the team getting the promotion to the country’s first division. Already playing in Germany’s top level, Emil reached his peak level to date getting to play 27 games while scoring 8 goals and giving 19 assists, leading the Bundesliga and almost doubling his competition.
The finesse midfielder, deployed mostly through the middle and the left flank of the pitch–always with an attacking approach to the game as his numbers and traits demonstrate–struggled a little during this last campaign. Although he missed almost half of the season due to injury, his numbers dropped considerably and doubts started to surround him. This summer, though, rumours are again swirling and they only mention staggering amounts of money allegedly being thrown at RB Leipzig in order for them to let the Swede leave for greener–and English–pastures.
Forsberg’s performance at the World Cup has been another story. Without Zlatan for the first time at a final stage of an international competition in years, Emil was designated as the head and leader of the team, and he proved he’s capable of carrying that role, although Janne Andersson’s methods and tactics could have deterred his potential a little. Even with that, Forsberg was able to carry Sweden to the round of eight where England ended the Swedish run after the nordic team found itself out of ideas on an empty and fairly poor performance. He leaves Russia with a goal–the one that put Sweden on the QF and eliminated Switzerland–on his belt and as one of the highlighted names of the Swedish national team along those of Lustig and Granqvist.
With the eyes on Emil’s future and what it could bring, and noting that nowadays it could mean nothing, it wasn’t long ago that he published a tweet that could have foreseen what is about to happen to him and his career.
Arsenal. Everton. The names are there. It is only a matter of time the move is complete and we get to see Forsberg, once for all, at one of true the European powerhouses.
