'He's going to do really well!' - Ex-Newcastle chief Amanda Staveley backs Alexander Isak to turn Liverpool form around following £125m transfer

Isak had been tipped to make an immediate impact for Liverpool following his contentious switch to Merseyside. The 26-year-old scored 23 goals and laid on an additional six assists for Eddie Howe's side last season.

However, the striker has struggled to transfer his Newcastle form to Anfield owing in part to a lack of pre-season. Isak went on strike to force through a move to the defending Premier League champions and claimed that promises had been broken by his former side as he sought to secure his switch to Arne Slot's side.

The high-profile summer signing is yet to play the full 90 minutes for Liverpool following his move as he plays catch up with his match fitness. However, Staveley has broken her silence on the move and has backed Isak to return to goalscoring form sooner rather than later.

Speaking to Sky Sports alongside husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi, Staveley revealed that they both still 'love' Isak despite the way he acted to force his move to Liverpool. "I'm so proud of Newcastle and how they're doing," Staveley started.

"And you know, we love Alex and we know he's going to do really well at Liverpool. He's a great player - Liverpool have got an extraordinary player, but equally so, it's great to see the [Newcastle] forwards doing so well and Newcastle performing really well."

When asked whether Newcastle were hamstrung by the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability rules and whether they need reforming, Staveley said: "No, no. I think the PSR rules are actually quite helpful and they're there to help give fair competition. We navigated them well and we welcome them."

Ghodoussi, meanwhile, added: "They're there for a reason. They will adapt and change in time, I'm sure, like everything does. But look, Newcastle's doing fantastically well, obviously they're having a bit of a hiccup now on the Premier League, but they're doing fantastically well in the Champions League and we're super proud of Eddie [Howe] and the boys."

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Newcastle moved to ease Isak's impending departure for Liverpool over the summer with the big money additions of Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa from VfB Stuttgart and Brentford, respectively. Woltemade has made a solid start to life at St James' Park, scoring four goals in his opening eight league appearances, including crucial strikes in home wins over Wolves and Nottingham Forest.

Wissa, though, is yet to make an appearance for the Magpies having, like Isak, gone on strike to force a summer switch. The former Bees man suffered a knee injury while on international duty with DR Congo in September and has previously been urged by Newcastle hero Alan Shearer to show some loyalty to his new employers and miss out on AFCON.

"It will be a really difficult decision for Wissa not to go to AFCON because you always want to represent your country," Shearer said last month. 

"But what I would say is, because of him not training or playing during the summer, he could've shown more responsibility in not playing as much as he did in those two games when he went away on international duty and hadn't played at all.

"But it's really tough to say to someone they can't and won't represent their country when it means so much. And we know AFCON is huge and players want to play in that tournament."

Liverpool, meanwhile, are aiming to return to winning ways when they resume domestic duties. The Reds welcome Nottingham Forest to Anfield next weekend as they look to bounce back from their 3-0 loss at Manchester City last Sunday.

The result means Liverpool have lost five of their last six league matches, with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa the only positive in that run. The downturn in form means Liverpool are now eight points behind league leaders Arsenal after the opening 11 games of the season.