Fabrizio Romano confirms Alexander Isak struggles since £125m deadline day move

Liverpool's record-breaker hasn't exactly hit the ground running since he joined.

Alexander Isak is a known quality in the Premier League, yet we're now in November and he has just one goal and one assist to his name. From the outside looking in, the £125m forward has struggled.

In one sense, the player needed to tactically adapt to Liverpool's style of play, not least because his contemporary Hugo Ekitike likes to occasionally drop deep and spread himself wide to create attacks.

But we simply can't overlook the fitness struggles that have so far led to his downfall.

Fabrizio Romano gives his insight on Isak

Speaking on his Here We Go podcast, the transfer journalist said: "Alexander Isak basically didn't have any kind of pre-season. Okay, he was working separately from the group and also with a private trainer, but it's not the same thing as having a proper pre-season starting in July and working for two months until the Premier League starts. So it's something completely different.

"Also on the mental point of view - Isak was basically in a kind of war with Newcastle to leave the club and have the opportunity to go to Liverpool. So it's been a complicated summer, especially physically.

"Liverpool are convinced that as soon as the player is back in good condition, he's going to shine, he's going to score goals. So again, Liverpool are not worried."

Whenever anyone mentions pre-seaosn with Isak, it's inevitable that you'll see a Newcastle point out the fact that the Swede chose to not engage with Eddie Howe's plans, suggesting that he's designed his own downfall, which doesn't quite tell the full story. Also, you'll see Liverpool mentioned as one of the main reasons why he went on strike, which doesn't actually appear to be factual at all.

Newcastle didn't want to let the Swede go, and instead of letting the player explore his options, which they inevitably did on deadline day - when a £130m deal was agreed - they decided to almost punish him for not wanting to be on Tyneside anymore. In one view, the player didn't have a choice.

Regardless of why he missed out on training, it's a legitimate factor in what's transpired since.

You can't possible expect the player to be on the right footing when he's not fully up to speed? His latest concern has been a thigh injury, which has been a a trend in his career to date. Pulling a muscle like that after just 429 minutes of play illustrates perfectly how problematic his fitness is.

A world-class talent like Isak doesn't just stop being good all of a sudden, we've just got to play the waiting game. And given how much better Liverpool looked against Aston Villa on Saturday night, he might be walking back into a changing room where morale is a lot higher than he's seen before.

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