#alexander-isak

#alexander-isak

Alexander Isak's first appearance of the season was overshadowed by Sweden's shock 2-0 defeat to Kosovo, who finished with 10 men, in World Cup qualifying on Monday. Isak, who completed a British-record £125m transfer to Liverpool on deadline day, was an unused substitute in his nation's 2-2 draw with Slovenia on Friday. The former Newcastle United striker took to the pitch for the first time since May following his transfer stand-off with the Magpies, coming on late in the second half.

Sweden travel to Kosovo in their second match of the UEFA 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign. Isak did not feature in Sweden's opening Group A game against Slovenia after his 125 million move to Liverpool on transfer deadline day. The saga meant he did not train with his previous club Newcastle all summer and he is lacking match fitness. Ex-teammate Anthony Elanga scored, while Viktor Gyokeres played the full 90 minutes as they drew 2-2 in Slovenia.

Still, it seems Ginola also had the chance to go to Barcelona at one point, and he still clearly feels bitter about not being allowed to go. It was no disrespect to Newcastle, but a career is so short. When it didn't happen again, I had to go back. And then when Keegan left us that January, he left me, too. I felt stabbed in the back, Ginola said of nearly getting a move to Barca.

On the face of it, it's not hard to see why Liverpool would want Alexander Isak. He will not turn 26 until later this month and has scored more than 20 Premier League goals in each of the past two seasons, something matched only by Erling Haaland. But he offers more than just goals; he's a very modern centre-forward. Thirty or 40 years ago, when 4-4-2 was still the dominant formation, strike pairings tended to come in two forms:

Alexander Isak in Sweden training having completed his Liverpool move (Image credit: Getty Images) Newcastle United's board of directors could be the target of a post-transfer window war of words from Alexander Isak's agent Vlado Lemic. The Croatian-born intermediary has brokered several high-profile transfers throughout his career as a football agent, although few will be as lucrative as the 130 million transfer which has seen Isak join Liverpool for a British record fee.

The Reds had a £110m offer rejected in August and since then the 25-year-old has not trained with or played for Newcastle, but in the final hours of the transfer window a deal has been reached to end the impasse. The striker arrived at Anfield to undergo a medical on Monday, with Newcastle relenting by accepting the player does not want to play for them any longer. United also announced the signing of striker Nick Woltemade on Saturday.