Emile Heskey believes Alexander Isak is returning to his best following his move to Liverpool. The striker has returned for assessment of a thigh injury ahead of the Reds' game against Manchester City
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 has been impressive at Liverpool this season(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey believes Alexander Isak is finally beginning to justify his $165 million price tag from last year. It has been 13 months since Isak became the most expensive player in British football history when he swapped Newcastle United for Liverpool on transfer deadline day.
His debut campaign on Merseyside proved far from straightforward for the Swedish striker. Having arrived underprepared following a disrupted pre-season, a direct consequence of the acrimonious circumstances surrounding his departure from Tyneside, Isak subsequently sustained a series of minor injuries before breaking his leg in December, ruling him out for four months.
Nevertheless, the 27 year old has begun to resemble the player who netted 44 times across two Premier League seasons at Newcastle, contributing four goals for Andoni Iraola's unbeaten Reds this campaign, including a decisive strike in their most recent outing at Bournemouth prior to the international break, though he was forced to withdraw from the Sweden squad on Sunday with a thigh injury.
Heskey, who himself arrived at Anfield as a club-record acquisition when he completed a $14.5 million switch from Leicester City in 2000, believes Isak is increasingly returning to his best form 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.", reports the Liverpool Echo.
"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.
(Image: Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
"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 picked up a thigh injury while on international duty and travelled back to Merseyside earlier this week for further evaluation by Liverpool's medical team. Sweden manager Graham Potter maintained the issue wasn't particularly serious.
He stated: "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.
Liverpool's Swedish striker #09 Alexander Isak celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the English Premier League football match between Bournemouth and Liverpool at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, southern England on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. /
Alexander Isak has had a strong start to the season(Image: Getty Images)
"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 monitoring Gakpo's condition after he pulled out of the Netherlands squad having sustained an ankle problem in their 2-1 Nations League triumph over Serbia on Sunday.
Liverpool resume action on Sunday, 11 October, with a crucial Premier League fixture at Anfield against Manchester City.