Former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey on the improvements a sharper, fitter Alexander Isak is making to his game this season at Anfield
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 20: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Alexander Isak of Liverpool celebrating after scoring the opening goal during the Premier League 2026/27 match between AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool FC at Vitality Stadium on September 20, 2026 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Alexander Isak celebrates his winner for Liverpool at Bournemouth (Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
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Former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey believes Alexander Isak is finally starting to show why he cost the club £125m last year. It's 13 months since Isak became the most expensive player in British football history when he traded Newcastle United for Liverpool on transfer deadline day.
The first year on Merseyside did not go to plan for the Sweden striker. Arriving unfit after a lack of a pre-season schedule, which stemmed from the acrimonious nature of his move from Tyneside, Isak then picked up a handful of minor injuries before suffering a broken leg in December that sidelined him for four months.
However, the 27-year-old has looked more like the player who scored 44 times over two Premier League campaigns for Newcastle this season, with four goals for Andoni Iraola's unbeaten Reds, including a winner in the most recent fixture at Bournemouth before the international break.
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Heskey, who himself became a club-record signing at Anfield when he moved for £11m from Leicester City in 2000, thinks Isak is looking more like his old self so far this term.
"I'm not sure about what to add to his game because he is what he is," Heskey told Rekatochklart.com. "I like his movement. He's getting chances, and creating chances.
"You're going to miss some anyway. I love the runs that he's making. He looks sharper now, like he was when he was at Newcastle. That comes with games, the more and more you play.
"I like his movement, I like his runs. I think he's coming back to his best now because people are seeing him making the runs now.
"The second goal against Ipswich where he made the run in behind for Cody Gakpo who passed it with the outside of his boot.
"If you go back a little bit, just before he makes that run for Gakpo, he's made a run for Virgil (van Dijk) who doesn't play it. He turns around and he's like throwing his hands around and then he realises Gakpo's got it, and he comes back onside and makes the second run."
Heskey added: "See there's times when you're making runs and people are not even looking at you. At times we look at forwards and they're making runs and no one really wants to play them. He's not a player who's going to play it back to goal.
"He wants to make runs in behind to then run on to the ball and have chances of squaring up with the defender and taking them on.
"So I think they're finding him a little bit more with that. I'm not too sure what other parts of his game he needs to brush up. I quite like everything about him. Maybe his hold up play, but again they don't really play like that."
Isak suffered a thigh injury on international duty and returned to Merseyside at the start of the week for further assessment by Liverpool's medical staff.
Alexander Isak.
Alexander Isak has withdrawn from the Sweden squad(Image: Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)
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Sweden boss Graham Potter insisted the problem was not a major one. He said: “He’s got a small problem with his thigh. It’s not a big one but because of the amount of games we’ve got in a small space of time, he won’t be able to make those.
“Not a big one but it's frustrating for him and obviously for us. It is what it is but we move forward with the players we have.
“It was during the game. Like anything, you sometimes get bumps and bruises in the game, you might think it’s a bit of a dead leg or something. But actually as the 24 hours, 48 hours after the game, not quite what you think.
“Unfortunately after getting it checked out, it’s a little bit more than what you think during the match. He has to miss the rest of the camp.
“Our medical team has been in contact with the club. Obviously it’s our decision in the first place because of his status, in terms of his injury. Once that’s the case, we have to inform everybody. That’s just normal..”
The Reds are also sweating on the fitness of Gakpo after he withdrew from the Netherlands squad after suffering an ankle injury in their 2-1 victory over Serbia in the Nations League on Sunday.
Liverpool return to action on Sunday, October 11 with a huge Premier League game at home to Manchester City.