Football writer Alex Keble analyses the signing of Alexander Isak for Liverpool and why they still look vulnerable despite his arrival.
As the transfer saga dragged on through August, pundits seemed to be in universal agreement that if Liverpool signed Alexander Isak they would have the title sewn up.
Liverpool are the reigning champions and the only Premier League team with a 100 per cent record as we enter the first international break of the campaign.
It’s understandable that, having capped that off by breaking the Premier League transfer record for one of the best strikers in Europe, many people now see the title as done and dusted.
But football is rarely that simple, and squad-building rarely is as straightforward as adding a new player to make the whole better than the sum of its parts.
Isak’s arrival means others give way, means attacking patterns must be disrupted and rebuilt.
Most of all, in the context of the title race, signing Isak does not address a few issues in defence and midfield that have emerged over the last few weeks.
Does Isak make Liverpool Premier League title favourites? It’s more complicated than it looks.
Liverpool leave the best until last
By joining Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Hugo Ekitike as part of a reported £450million splurge, Isak has made this a record-breaking year. No English team has ever spent so much money in a single window.
For the reigning champions to sign an elite goalscorer strikes fear into the hearts of their competitors.
Isak is an elite signing, of that there is no doubt.
Across the last two seasons only Erling Haaland (49) and Mohamed Salah (47) scored more Premier League goals than Isak (44), who got to within three of his new Liverpool team-mate while playing in six fewer matches.
Isak is a ruthless finisher, scoring half-chances and turning up in the big matches.
His non-penalty shot conversion rate last season was 26.4 per cent from 95 shots, which only four players bettered. It was superior to both Haaland’s (21.6 per cent) and Salah’s (21.1 per cent).
This record continued in the most difficult matches, too, with Isak scoring against the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Aston Villa, and Nottingham Forest last season; all of the top seven bar Manchester City.
Isak, then, inevitably adds even more goals to the Liverpool attack. That puts them in a commanding position.
Liverpool remain vulnerable despite Isak arrival
On the other hand, one could argue that Liverpool’s most significant transfer story on deadline day was not Isak’s arrival, but rather the reported Marc Guehi deal collapsing.
Liverpool only have three senior centre-backs in the squad until at least January.
That could be an issue, especially if the AFC Bournemouth and Newcastle United matches are anything to go by. They have conceded two goals to fast breaks this season, the most in the division.
Both clubs tore through Liverpool on the counter-attack almost at will, taking advantage of the Reds being considerably more expansive and attack-minded with Wirtz at the tip of midfield.
Liverpool were level in the 88th minute and 98th minute of their first two fixtures, then needed a spectacular Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick to win the third against Arsenal.
It’s fair to say there is work to do.
Liverpool’s interceptions, tackles, and fouls have all dropped compared to 2024/25, indicating an issue in the midfield configuration.
Liverpool's midfield defensive stats compared 24/25 and 25/26
| Stat per 90 | 2024/25 | 2025/26 |
| Tackles | 16.9 | 13.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Interceptions | 7.9 | 3.7 |
| Fouls | 11.3 | 9.7 |
That’s a small sample size, but the interceptions in particular are down by more than half, with their 3.7 per game the lowest figure in the Premier League.
And then there’s the eye test.
Newcastle repeatedly got behind a Liverpool midfield that positioned both Szoboszlai and Wirtz too high up, such as in this typical example.
Both Bournemouth goals also saw the whole Liverpool midfield ahead of play when Andoni Iraola’s side won possession and launched the counter-attack, as indicated here for Antoine Semenyo's first goal.
And then his second.
A secondary concern has been the full-backs. Trent Alexander-Arnold used to sit in midfield to help the counter-press, whereas the overlapping Frimpong made Liverpool more vulnerable against Bournemouth.
With Kerkez also struggling to adapt, the Kerkez/Frimpong set-up – likely to be first choice when Frimpong returns from injury after the international break - will make Liverpool weaker for the time being.
Kerkez was too easily beaten by Bruno Guimaraes for Newcastle’s first goal and his performances across the first two matches partly explain why Liverpool are allowing so many more crosses this season compared to last.
How Liverpool rank for crosses against 24/25 and 25/26
| Stat per 90 | 24/25 (PL rank) | 25/26 (PL rank) |
| Crosses against | 13.2 (19th) | 20.7 (5th) |
|---|---|---|
| Completed crosses against | 1.29 (19th) | 3.0 (4th) |
Isak’s goals could allow Liverpool to simply outscore their opponents
However, those defensive frailties might well be overstated. Liverpool have already shown greater defensive solidity against Arsenal, earning their first clean sheet of the season, suggesting Slot is in the process of finding the right balance.
And even if he doesn’t always get that right, the prospect of Isak alongside Salah, Wirtz, and Ekitike might just be enough to outscore anyone.
That bring us onto the question of how Slot crams these players into the same team.
In his first season at Newcastle, Isak played around 24 per cent of his Premier League minutes on the left, but it’s unlikely he will be the one moved into a less comfortable position.
Ekitike played just nine senior matches of football as a left-winger before joining Liverpool, but he could be re-trained, while Ekitike could also play behind Isak; he and Omar Marmoush regularly dove-tailed for Eintracht Frankfurt.
“I see Hugo mainly as a No 9 that could also play from the left or together with another number nine,” Slot told Sky Sports earlier in the summer.
Alternatively, Cody Gakpo may continue on the left and Ekitike may be used as cover for multiple positions.
Slot heavily rotated his forwards last season, with Luis Diaz (28 starts), Gakpo (23 starts), Diogo Jota (14 starts), and Darwin Nunez (eight starts) vying for the two starting spots in a front three with Salah.
Ekitike, Isak, and Gakpo will all get plenty of Premier League starts rotating in a similar way this year, especially when you factor in that Salah will miss around a month of the season in December and January to play in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Liverpool have enough options to keep their forwards fresh – and change a game from the bench.
Goals will keep flowing.
It isn’t as simple as champions with the addition of Isak equals to a Premier League title.
But with Slot already looking to recalibrate the midfield and defence, and with attacking riches far superior to anyone else in the division, Isak’s arrival puts Liverpool in a very strong position to retain their crown.