What happened when Arne Slot met Alexander Isak for the first time

There was a time when Arne Slot and Alexander Isak could only dream of representing Liverpool.

Right now, there is a very real possibility that both of them will be at Anfield come the end of the season.

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Isak has made his desire clear, and it doesn't seem like he will budge from his stance. Whether Liverpool can get him in now or perhaps in the January window is a question of when not if the deal happens.

There's no secret Liverpool have wanted this deal to happen for a long time. Michael Edwards and his recruitment team were huge advocates of Isak while he was at AIK in Sweden. Almost nine years ago, Edwards missed out on his signature to Borussia Dortmund.

Then when Liverpool needed to sign a new no.9 in 2022, the recruitment team pushed Jurgen Klopp to sign Isak. At the time the coaching staff preferred Darwin Nunez, so the Uruguayan was signed instead.

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For Slot though, Liverpool's recruitment team won't have to do much convincing. He knows Isak well and he knows the threat the Swede possesses. He's witnessed first hand, on multiple occasions. And not just for Liverpool.

Their history goes back over six years ago when they were both just making a name for themselves in the Eredivisie.

Back in the 2018/19 campaign, Isak was sent on loan to Willem II from Dortmund. This was a chance for a young forward to make his mark and one of his first appearances for his new side came against AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Cup.

At the time, Slot was working as an assistant coach to John van den Broom at Alkmaar. They faced Isak's side in the semi-final of the competition on the 28th February 2019.

It was a cold and rainy evening. Slot wore a black overcoat and he sat on the touchline to shelter himself from the deluge for much of the night.

The Swede did not have that luxury. He had arrived at Willem with a point to prove and he started at the focal point of the attack for his new side.

It was Alkmaar who took the lead through Calvin Stengs in the first-half. But in the second, Isak had a firm response.

Eager to make a mark, his constant running ultimately proved to be the dagger for Alkmaar. Isak peeled off his defender and was found with ample space just inside the Alkmaar penalty area.

That flicker of a chance was all he needed, Isak took one touch and then buried it past Marco Bizot into the back of the net with his left foot to give Willem an equaliser.

The game would end 1-1 with the tie heading to penalties to see who would qualify for the final.

With the rain pouring down, the penalty shoot-out was chaotic. Isak took Willem's final penalty and he was only one of three players to score from the spotkick in the shoot-out.

Ultimately, Isak's penalty would make the difference and send Slot's side crashing out of the competition.

This was Slot's first impression of the man six years ago. A goal, a winning penalty and a terrific performance.

After that game, Isak went onto score 11 goals in his next seven Eredivisie matches while registering four assists. Slot will have watched him from afar and he'll have no doubt been impressed by the performances the young man was producing.

The season would prove to be a catalyst in both Slot's and Isak's career. Isak's goals allowed him to earn a move to Real Sociedad and then later Newcastle. Meanwhile, Slot's experience and work as an assistant manager ultimately led to him being given the reins to become the manager of Alkmaar the next season.

Undoubtedly though neither Isak nor Slot will have forgotten about that game in back in 2019.

It's why Liverpool are so desperate to sign Isak now. Just like the recruitment team, Slot has now managed in two major European leagues where Isak has dominated and caught the eye against his sides.

He'll be well aware of his quality and just what he could bring to this Liverpool team.

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