Alexander Isak is poised to finally deliver on his £125 million price tag in his second season at Liverpool after a debut campaign wrecked by injury left the club with just four goals for their British-record outlay.
The Swedish striker broke his leg at Tottenham in December after scoring in the first half, felled by defender Micky van de Ven. He had managed only two goals in his first 15 appearances as fitness problems hampered him from the start, and Arne Slot, the manager who signed him, has since left the club.
New head coach Andoni Iraola is counting on Isak more than ever. With striker Hugo Ekitike sidelined by a ruptured achilles and Mohamed Salah having departed, Liverpool’s attacking options are stretched thin. Isak is expected to feature in their first pre-season game against Leeds United in Chicago on Sunday.
“Alex is exciting,” Iraola said in Chicago. “He has come to pre-season in a good place, had a good World Cup, feeling comfortable. First training here, still early but I hope he can play against Leeds and have a proper pre-season. It is not long, but three or four weeks of quality training I hope and he is in a good place because he is going to be massive for us.”
Tactical reset under Iraola
Iraola wants Isak to operate as an out-and-out No 9, with £116m signing Florian Wirtz playing as a traditional No 10 close to the striker. Last season Wirtz was often instructed to drift wide left. The shift is part of a broader reset as Liverpool try to extract value from a combined £241m spent on the duo, both of whom struggled in their first campaigns at Anfield.
Isak’s record before his move underlines the expectation placed on him. Since joining Newcastle ahead of the 2022-23 season, only Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah and Ollie Watkins scored more Premier League goals than his 57. He scored 62 times in 109 games for the Magpies before his move to Merseyside.
Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler, who scored 183 goals for the club, said he remains convinced Isak can repay the investment.
“I am a massive fan,” Fowler said. “He is proven in the Premier League. For whatever reason, he turned up not fit or whether it was that he struggled to step up to a big club. But I have no qualms with him. He is exciting. He will score goals. He will be a handful. Hopefully this is the season he kicks on.”
Fowler added that the scale of the transfer fee should not weigh on Isak. “Alexander is world-class and the price tag won’t bother him either. He has everything in the locker, exciting when he drives with the ball, he makes things happen. He excites the fans which is imperative for a club like Liverpool. Not only can he beat players, he can bring others into the game and he can score goals which is massive.”
Isak has been using the pre-season trip to build physically after a positive World Cup, where he scored a solo goal against Tunisia in the group stage and played alongside Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres for Sweden. He has also crossed paths in the Chicago training facility with Robert Lewandowski, the 37-year-old former Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona and Bayern Munich striker who recently joined MLS side Chicago Fire. Lewandowski won eight Bundesligas, three La Ligas and a Champions League during his career.
Away from his own preparations, Isak has been helping teenage strikers Will Wright and Josh Sonni-Lambie within the Liverpool group.
With one year of his six-year contract already gone and just four goals to show for it, the pressure on Isak to produce is significant. Iraola has made a positive start in his early weeks in charge, but how quickly Isak and Wirtz begin to perform like the players their fees commanded will go a long way toward determining how far Liverpool progress this season.
