German press labels four Real Sociedad players as 'failures' ahead of RB Leipzig Europa League clash

Real Sociedad take on RB Leipzig at the Red Bull Arena in the first leg of their Europa League play-off tie that is scheduled to take place on Thursday at 20:00 GMT.

Ahead of the meeting between the two sides, the German press didn't hesitate to label four Real Sociedad players, who had plied their trade in the Bundesliga, as failures.

Bild's article ran with the headline 'The return of the failures', referring to Adnan Januzaj, who is out injured, Alex Isak, Mikel Merino and Alexander Sorloth.

Did Januzaj, Isak, Merino and Sorloth fail to impress in the Bundesliga?

Januzaj (Borussia Dortmund)

Januzaj played just 12 games for Borussia Dortmund after being loaned out to the Bundesliga club by Manchester United in 2105 at just 20 years old. The Real Sociedad winger returned to his parent club in the January transfer window after featuring in only three games as a starter.

Isak (Borussia Dortmund)

Back in 2017, Dortmund spent eight million euros to sign Isak from AIK. Labelled as 'the new Zlatan Ibrahimovic' at the age of 18, the Sweden international played only five games for Dortmund's first team before joining Real Sociedad.

Merino (Borussia Dortmund)

Dortmund signed Merino from Osasuna in exchange for 3.7 million euros in 2016. One year later, the Spaniard was loaned out to Newcastle United, who triggered his release clause, which was set at seven million euros, before signing for Real Sociedad in 2018. Merino played just eight games for Dortmund in the 2016/17 season.

Sorloth (RB Leipzig)

Sorloth joined RB Leipzig in 2020 after standing out at Trabzonspor in Turkey. The Norwegian striker scored five goals in 29 games for the Bundesliga side before being loaned out to Real Sociedad in 2021.