Paul Gorst takes a closer look at Alexander Isak's current situation at Liverpool after Arne Slot revealed the £125m striker is on the comeback trail earlier this week
Alexander Isak limps off from Liverpool's 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on December 20, 2025
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There was an internal acceptance on September 1, when Liverpool paid £125m for Alexander Isak, that the incoming No.9 would not hit the Anfield turf at speed. After he was left out of Newcastle's first friendly of their summer schedule - a 4-0 defeat to Celtic on July 19 - the writing appeared to be on the wall for his future on Tyneside and his departure, one which became increasingly acrimonious, was eventually confirmed in the closing hours of transfer deadline day, some 44 days later.
For the supporters of both clubs awaiting the daily updates during a summer without competitive football, that interminable period likely felt longer. This was particularly true because both Liverpool and Newcastle jetted out to the Far East for their pre-season tours, meaning updates were given at unusual times for fans in both the North West and North East.
The explosive social media statement that spoke of broken promises, released just minutes after he was confirmed as part of the PFA's 24/25 Team of the Season at Manchester Opera House in mid-August, an event he opted against attending, only added fuel to the fire at the time.
But after flagging an injury that kept him off Newcastle's tour of Singapore and South Korea before a return to training at the facilities of former club Real Sociedad, a move which was unsanctioned by Newcastle, Isak finally completed the blockbuster move on September 1.
So while most of his new Liverpool team-mates - many of whom were undergoing double training sessions daily - had earned minutes in as many as five friendlies before featuring in the Community Shield and three Premier League fixtures, Isak arrived at the start of the September international break in stark contrast to his colleagues, who were, by that point, finely tuned and in form.
It seems hard to believe now but Isak was actually still a Newcastle player when Rio Ngumoha's 100th-minute winner sunk Eddie Howe's team at St James' Park back on August's Bank Holiday and a delegation from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, the club's owners, had actually launched a last-gasp attempt to keep their talisman in the North East earlier that day.
Jamie Reuben, Newcastle's co-owner and Jacobo Solis, the Spanish director viewed as PIF's 'football man,' were said to be part of the contingent who visited the player's Northumberland home that afternoon.
They pulled up to Isak's Darras Hall mansion in a Range Rover Vogue and Mercedes V-Class but the wantaway striker essentially told them to get their tanks off his lawn, and the showdown talks only reaffirmed his steadfast desire to make the move to the champions. Liverpool, who had an offer of £110m rejected on August 1, viewed the intense speculation as 'noise' and opted against adding to it either in private or more formally during press conferences of Arne Slot, who played the straight bat when it was put to him across the summer. Another club's player would not be subjected to discussion, as is usually the official line around these things.
The sheer weight of the deal for Isak meant he signed a six-year contract instead of the usual five. While Liverpool were fully aware of the need to get him up to speed quickly, the long-term nature of the agreement has remained a focus at Anfield, regardless of his initial struggles and the subsequent 'hot-takes' that have followed.
As the striker's return approaches following a broken leg in December, Liverpool will keep that view at the centre of their thinking. Slot's update on Thursday was hugely encouraging and while the head coach usually tries to evade the specifics on injury updates, that he was eventually pinned down to a late-March comeback bodes well.
"It will be around that period of time; end of March, start of April, where he is hopefully back with the group," Slot said."It will be somewhere around there and then it’s always a question if things go really well or he gets a bit of a setback. In the gym you can hardly do too much but at this stage you constantly have to tick the next box and the next box."When you are back with the group that is not to say you are ready to play, let alone start a game of football because again he’s been out for months and the last time he was out for months we could all see it took him a while before he was the player who we signed from Newcastle.”
Prior to suffering that leg break at Spurs, when he was caught awkwardly by Micky van de Ven after opening the scoring with a crisp finish, Isak had featured for just 508 minutes for the Reds. It's why demands around comeback must be tempered somewhat.
For the money paid, Liverpool and their fanbase might feel entitled to demand instant results but a season blighted by fitness concerns and injury issues means expectations have to be grounded in realistic terms.
Having a player of Isak's breathtaking skill will inevitably be a boost for a squad who have looked threadbare at times in the forward positions since his injury but his availability, whenever that actually comes, will be most notable for the ability to give Hugo Ekitike more of a rest than he has had in recent weeks.
With Federico Chiesa struggling to gain any real measure of trust from Slot, 15-goal Ekitike has been stretched to breaking point at times since Isak underwent surgery before Christmas on an ankle injury that included a fibula fracture.
Ekitike missed the games against Fulham and Arsenal due to concerns about a potential hamstring issue and he has visibly tired late in games as he continues to adjust to the intensity of the Premier League. The alternative, however, is presently Chiesa, who has just two Premier League starts under Slot.
The old maxim of buying a player for five years as opposed to five weeks accurately applied to Isak upon his arrival at Anfield, at the start of an international break after a summer without a pre-season schedule. But as brighter days appear to be nearing, perhaps we should accept that the 26-year-old's best form will now in fact come from next season onwards?
Isak had to wait a long time for his Liverpool career to start and while it's largely been a forgettable term on Merseyside for the gifted frontman, Slot's update on Thursday might just have outlined when it can truly begin.