Liverpool made the biggest signing in the club’s storied history on deadline day of the summer transfer window by forking out £125m for Alexander Isak.
Isak’s addition had seemed virtually impossible for much of the summer, but the Reds held their nerve and secured the Swede in a record-busting deal.
The forward has struggled to really hit the ground running since his move was finalised, however Liverpool fans are confident he’ll find form soon enough.
Not everyone is quite so convinced, though. Real Madrid legend Toni Kroos was shocked at the fee Liverpool paid to sign Isak, suggesting that the 25-year-old is not even a household name.
“I trust our listeners, but I’d say that roughly half of them have never even heard of Isak,” Kroos said on his podcast this week. Well, the listeners may not know Isak, but the former Germany midfielder certainly does. He watched the then Real Sociedad striker put on a masterclass to dump Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey in 2020.
Alexander Isak put on Real Madrid masterclass in 2020
Rewind the clock five-and-a-half years to February 2020, and Isak was a player very much bouncing back from a disappointing spell at Borussia Dortmund.
Despite the youngster excelling at Willem II in the second half of the 2018/19 campaign, Dortmund cut their losses on Isak and sold him for around £8m in June 2019.
The German club’s loss was very much La Real’s gain, as Isak went on to score 16 goals in a productive first season.
Seven of those goals came in the Copa del Rey, with a memorable double seeing off Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in February. They were brilliant goals as well.
After Martin Odegaard had put the Basque side ahead against his former club, the then 20-year-old Isak volleyed home an excellent left-footed effort 10 minutes into the second period.
The Swede’s second of the game arrived just two minutes later, as he lashed home a thunderous effort at the near post which flashed past Alphonse Areola and into the roof of the net.
Marcelo pulled one back for Real, only for Los Blancos to be undone by Isak again. This time Liverpool’s new-boy turned provider, firing an inviting low cross across the six-yard box, which Mikel Merino duly tucked home.
Rodrygo and then Nacho scored to reduce the deficit and make things nervy, but Real Sociedad held on to secure a famous win. Having played the full 90 minutes and witnessed a superb Isak performance in front of his very eyes, perhaps Kroos is still seething at what he saw.
Isak was always headed for the top
Although Isak’s career took a knock following his difficult time at Dortmund, it has always been clear that he could make it right to the top of the game.
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 2019/20 | 45 | 16 | 3 |
| 2020/21 | 44 | 17 | 2 |
| 2021/22 | 41 | 10 | 3 |
| 2022/23 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Real Sociedad was exactly the right place for him, and although his third season at the club resulted in a drop in form, his potential to be one of the best forwards in world football was still clear.
Liverpool were keen on signing Isak in 2022, and looking back they should really have bought him instead of Darwin Nunez.
But the years in between have given the former AIK man time to grow as a player with Newcastle.
Certainly, if he can do the same again when Los Blancos head to Merseyside in November, all of Kroos’ listeners will then be well aware of exactly who Isak is.
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