Alexander Isak once left Slot feeling ‘helpless’ long before record-breaking Liverpool transfer | OneFootball

Alexander Isak is now playing under Arne Slot at Liverpool, five years on from when the Swedish striker proved to be a real thorn in his new head coach’s side.

The 25-year-old has become the most expensive signing ever made by a British club after completing a £125m move from Newcastle on transfer deadline day, bringing an end to a three-year association with the Magpies which delivered 62 goals but ended in acrimony.

Four of those strikes came against the Reds, including one in the Tynesiders’ Carabao Cup triumph at Wembley six months ago, but that wasn’t the first time he helped to get the better of a team managed by the Dutchman.

Isak once left Slot feeling ‘helpless’

In an article for The Times reflecting on Isak’s protracted transfer to Liverpool, Paul Joyce noted that he and Slot first came up against each other almost five years ago, when the Swede was playing for Real Sociedad and the current LFC boss was in charge of AZ Alkmaar.

It was in a Europa League group stage tie in San Sebastian that the LaLiga side won 1-0, and although the winning goal didn’t come from our new number 9, he and his teammates left a lasting impression on the Dutch coach.

Joyce detailed how Slot told his close friend Marcel Keizer after that game that he “never felt so helpless in all my years with AZ” and described La Real as having “serious players”, with current Arsenal duo Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino also lining out for the Basque club that night.

(Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Slot no longer has to worry about coming up against Isak!

Little did we know that a Europa League game in November 2020 (one that supporters couldn’t even attend due to social distancing rules) would lay the foundations for two of the most prominent exponents in their respective fields to come together at Liverpool later in the decade.

If you said at the time that Slot would be Jurgen Klopp’s replacement at Anfield and deliver the Premier League title in his first season in charge, and that Isak would help Newcastle to Carabao Cup glory and Champions League qualification before a messy divorce, it would’ve sounded highly fanciful at best.

Alas, such are the stars which can align in the world of professional football, and the Reds boss knew as far back as 2020 that the Swedish striker had an incredibly high ceiling.

Now that the pair are working together at Liverpool, hopefully the Dutchman can inspire our record signing to hit his loftiest heights in a red shirt and become synonymous with a sustained period of tangible success at Anfield.

Four of Isak’s Real Sociedad teammates that night went on to help Spain to Euro 2024 glory. Here’s hoping our number 9 can become a European champion with his new club!