‘Didn’t look interested’ - Why £125m Alexander Isak is a ‘huge problem’ for Liverpool as former Reds star asks ‘shirt weight’ question of Swedish striker

Having pushed for a move away from Newcastle during the summer of 2025, Isak was handed the fabled No.9 jersey when arriving on Merseyside. He was, on the back of a disrupted pre-season, eased into the fold by Arne Slot.

Form and fitness proved hard to come throughout a disappointing debut campaign, which included a broken leg, with only four goals being recorded through 22 appearances in all competitions. World Cup duty with Sweden was supposed to help get Isak ready for 2026-27.

He was on target in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest, but is considered to be offering little to the collective cause. At 26 years of age, Isak should be approaching his peak - having already proved his worth in the Premier League - but has delivered minimal return on record-setting investments of faith and funds.

Former Reds defender Warnock, who was speaking in association with Gambler Media, told GOAL of expensive concerns at Anfield: “I was at the Nottingham Forest game at the weekend. Isak, apart from his goal, did absolutely nothing.

“He was so poor. He didn't look interested at all. And I'm thinking, this is the guy who's meant to have had a proper pre-season, coming back hungry, fit, proving what he can do. And he didn't look like he could.

“He didn't look like he could carry the shirt. And that's a huge problem. It's that weight of expectation of the price tag to deliver. He doesn't look at the races at the moment. And whether that's just a little bit of an understanding with the other players around him. But you're training every single day. You should understand the game by now.

“[Florian] Wirtz, I thought, played okay. But again, plays on the periphery of a game and doesn't do enough for what he's expected to do in the team. He's an enigma at times. He drifts in and out of games and doesn't affect the game for long enough periods of time.”

German playmaker Wirtz cost Liverpool £116m ($157m). On top of the fee splashed out for Isak, the Reds also snapped up Hugo Ekitike for £79m ($107m) last summer and acquired Champions League-winning former Paris Saint-Germain star Bradley Barcola for £123m ($166m) in the latest transfer window.

That is over £400m ($540m) worth of attacking talent, but how does Andoni Iraola fit it all into the same team? Responding to that question, Warnock added: “It's going to be very difficult. It's helped at the moment because Ekitike is injured. So, at the moment, he's got one less headache to have.

“But it's very left-side dominant. So, even when Isak and Ekitike play, they drift to the left. It's their natural instinct to find that position on the pitch. Barcola likes to play off the left. We know [Cody] Gakpo does as well.

“I'm actually pleased they kept Gakpo because I think he's a great squad player - a great utility player who can play down the middle, he can play left side, he can play right as well. Probably not as comfortable playing right but I think he will be asked to play more right-hand side this season because I think he'll have to alternate him and [Victor] Munoz up the top end of the pitch. And Ngumoha, that's the other problem you've got.

“You're so left-side dominant. Is that just because there isn't enough quality on the right-hand side of the pitch? Or they're not available at the moment in the European market or the world market? And they haven't found anyone suitable to play that position? It's a position that effectively they haven't strengthened. And that's a real concern.”

That position on the right flank was filled for the last nine years by Mohamed Salah. The ‘Egyptian King’ registered 257 goals for Liverpool across 442 appearances - winning two Premier League titles, the Champions League, four Golden Boots and three PFA Player of the Year awards.

Someone was, having seen him move on to Trabzonspor as a free agent, always going to have to step up and fill a sizable attacking void. Isak was supposed to form part of that process, but questions continue to be asked of whether he is the man for the job and whether a contract through to 2031 will be honoured.