Eddie Howe has made a fresh admission on the saga that was Alexander Isak and his move to Liverpool FC last summer.
It feels like a different timeline entirely since the breathless deadline day drama of September saw Alexander Isak arrive at Liverpool for a British-record £125 million.
At the time, the “Isak Saga” consumed every column inch, a drawn-out negotiation that promised to be the catalyst for Liverpool’s successful title defence. Yet, as we approach Christmas, that fervor feels like a distant memory, replaced by the stark reality of a disjointed start for the Swede.
Isak’s time on Merseyside has been defined less by goals and more by the treatment table. A recurring groin issue has limited the 26-year-old to just 12 appearances, with his solitary goal coming in the Carabao Cup.
Meanwhile, on Tyneside, Newcastle’s decision to reinvest £69 million of the Isak fee into Stuttgart’s Nick Woltemade looks increasingly like a masterstroke.
Dubbed “Woltemessi” by the German press, the 6ft 6in forward has managed five Premier League goals in 13 appearances and looks a great fit for the Toon Army. But despite the 23-year-old’s strong start Eddie Howe has now admitted that his team has “suffered” this season as a result of Isak’s exit:
“Yeah, of course it was a difficult summer and I said there and then, whenever you lose a player like Alex, who’s one of the best strikers in the world, your team’s going to suffer from that,” he said as quoted by the Chronicle.
“I don’t care who you bring in to replace him. That’s a very difficult piece of your jigsaw to replace.
“Now, it’s not just Alex. We’re always evolving and changing as players are ageing. And then we’ve entered sort of, I think, a new dynamic for the team and we’re adjusting to that and I think with that comes some bumps and some rough patches.
“I don’t know whether backwards is the right word. I think we’re changing and morphing into something else and hopefully that something else will be very positive in the future.”
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