Alexander Isak has failed to impress following his record-breaking move to Liverpool from Newcastle United in the summer – and now he’s at the centre of a disagreement
Alexander Isak has struggled since joining Liverpool from Newcastle United(Image: (Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images))
Alexander Isak has struggled for form since joining Liverpool in a British record £125m move from Newcastle United during the summer transfer window. The 26-year-old striker arrived at Anfield on deadline day after a high-profile departure from St James’ Park, in which he went on strike to force through a move to the Premier League champions.
His preparations had already been disrupted after spending the summer training alone, and he has been playing catch-up ever since. His only goal so far for the Reds arrived in the Carabao Cup win over Southampton.
Isak started his first match in a month over the weekend against Nottingham Forest, and it was another underwhelming showing. So much so that Arne Slot has been urged to drop the forward for Wednesday’s Champions League clash against PSV.
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But despite those calls, Wayne Rooney believes the Sweden international needs a run of games to try and get back to his best, although he did admit that he would be fuming if he were Hugo Ekitike.
“The new players coming in will be looking at the players from last season and thinking, ‘oh they’ve just won the league’ and probably feel a bit more pressure that they have to try to do… they probably want to try to prove that they are better than those players,” he said on The Wayne Rooney Show on BBC Sport.
“There will be a bit more pressure, and obviously it’s a big club, but I think Alexander Isak just needs a run of games.
“He just needs any type of goal to get him going and I’m sure he’ll find a good run of form after that. But he’ll be scratching his head. It’s hard when you’re going through a run of games and not scoring. You just have to try to keep everything simple.”
“None of them [summer signings] have really paid off apart from Hugo Ekitike. If I was Ekitike, I’d be fuming if I wasn’t playing.”
Hugo Ekitike came off the bench for Liverpool against Nottingham Forest on Saturday(Image: (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images))
However, former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson, speaking on talkSPORT, has urged Reds boss Slot to drop Isak and play Ekitike, saying: “He [Isak] is not fit. Ekitike should be back in the team.
“How does he feel? He’s been the best of the two strikers. But the problem is, how do you get players fit if they can’t play in reserve games or anything?
“All you do is train and if you’re only training, it’s not the same, you’re about 25 per cent less than players in front of you.”
On Slot, Lawrenson added: “It’s one of those with the manager, he’s under pressure but his job’s safe. There’s no doubt about that whatsoever.
“You’ve just got to get the players together and go, ‘We start at 0-0 and make sure the nil is against us’. Until you start making yourself difficult to beat, the way we are at the moment, we just concede for fun.”
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