Liverpool: Iraola told Isak will be 'different beast' under his Reds regime

Liverpool have been told to expect their record signing Alexander Isak to really explode into life during his second season at Anfield, with Andoni Iraola’s style one of three reasons why the £125m will finally prove his worth, one expert has explained.

The Reds shelled out a British record fee to sign Isak from Newcastle on transfer deadline day last summer, the saga ending one of the most excruciating and long-drawn-out deals in recent memory.

However, the £125m signing showed very few signs of proving money well spent last season. Isak managed only four goals across 22 games in his debut season at Liverpool, comfortably his worst in English football and with his three seasons at Newcastle yielding 10, 25 and 27 respectively.

Furthermore, after the Sweden striker suffered a broken fibula in December, ruling him out of action for 106 days, he ended up missing a total of 28 matches across his debut campaign at Anfield.

Questions have since been raised if Liverpool’s signing of Isak will ultimately prove a mistake, amid speculative reports in Spain that have linked the Swede with a return to LaLiga with Barcelona.

Despite that, former England star Danny Mills reckons Isak is on for a major improvement at Anfield in his second year on Merseyside, citing a more focused and meaningful pre-season, together with Iraola’s style being better suited to his game than Arne Slot.

“It’s a fresh start for Alexander Isak and an opportunity to kick on,” Mills told Liverpool.com. “It didn’t start well at Liverpool last year with the debacle around the transfer, not turning up for training, not being fit, and then picking up an injury.

“That snowballed throughout the season. It almost wrote the season off for him, and it goes back to not having a pre-season.

“When you aren’t fit and go into high-intensity games, you pick up injuries. With a new start and a new manager, the manager will be looking at how to get the best out of him.

“The way Andoni Iraola played at Bournemouth probably suits him a little bit more. He looks to play with fast attacking pace in wide areas and down the middle, playing balls in behind.”

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Liverpool should prepare to see a different version of Alexander Isak

It’s fair to say, Isak’s first season at Anfield was nothing short of disastrous and, having been outshone by Hugo Ekitike before he too succumbed to an even worse injury, fans must have been left wondering if the player was worth the fee.

Having witnessed a striker of real menace and blessed with a blistering shot at Newcastle, Liverpool will have been left seriously underwhelmed by what unfolded.

There were, however, mitigating circumstances, most notably a transfer saga that dragged on for so long that it robbed the player – admittedly by his own decision to go on strike to force the move – denying him any sort of form and fitness over pre-season.

Mills believes that alone is a significant reason why the Reds can expect better next term.

The pundit continued: “We have to look at the first few games of pre-season to see the style at Liverpool, but it may well suit Isak.

“If he has a proper pre-season, he might be a different player this year. I wouldn’t judge him overly harshly.

“You can judge him for the way he manufactured the move, which ultimately cost him form, but don’t judge him solely on the form of last year because the circumstances were partly caused by himself.

“Yes, judge him for the move, but don’t judge him on the form of last year because there were circumstances that were equally caused by himself.”

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Hopes of a good second season at Anfield have been fuelled by a solid World Cup for the player. Indeed, he managed a goal and two assists for his country in a 5-1 win over Tunisia, prior to their elimination by France in the round of 32.

Sweden boss Graham Potter, though, thinks Liverpool will need to continue a patient approach with their record signing.

“When you lose, it’s easy to point to the players and say ‘they could have done this and that’,” Potter told TV4. “We faced top opposition. It wasn’t easy.

“[Isak] didn’t have the season he and everyone wanted him to have. He’s built himself up, and he’s still a few games away from his peak physically. That’s what’s needed after a season like that.”

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