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The Tottenham Hotspur defender has spoken about the qualities of Liverpool striker Alexander Isak.
Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has named Alexander Isak as the toughest opponent of his Premier League career.
The striker joined Liverpool from Newcastle United for a British record fee of £125 million in the summer transfer window. The Reds opted to splash out an unprecedented fee after Isak plundered 27 goals for the Magpies last season.
The Sweden international netted the winning goal in Newcastle’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final - ending the Toon’s 70-year wait for a major trophy.
Isak has endured a slow start to his Anfield career, though. He arrived well short of fitness after training away from Newcastle throughout pre-season and he’s scored only one Premier League goal so far.
Having joined Spurs from Wolfsburg in 2024, Van de Ven has faced the best the Premier League has to offer. And the centre-back admitted that Isak is the player who has caused him more problems than the likes of Liverpool’s Mo Salah and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.
Appearing on The Overlap, Van de Van said: “The game we played against Newcastle where we lost (4-0) and I slipped, Isak was a different level. So at this point I was like he’s a top-class player. I knew he was top class but this game he was excellent. He can run in behind, he can come to the ball and he’s technical - really good with the ball. He’s fast, he has a top finish, so at that point he was just everywhere.”
Van de Ven will come up against Isak when Liverpool travel to Tottenham on Saturday. Spurs go into the game after a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest while the Reds earned a 2-0 win over Brighton.
Isak came on as a late substitute, having suffered a knock during the 1-0 victory at Inter Milan in the Champions League. The 26-year-old is still searching for full sharpness and after Hugo Ekitike bagged a double against Brighton, Isak could again be on the bench.
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