'I don't really have an answer' - Alexander Isak speaks out on Liverpool struggles after controversial £125m transfer from Newcastle

Liverpool’s return to the summit of English football last season triggered an aggressive shift in policy at Anfield. With the Premier League trophy back in their hands, the club’s hierarchy handed head coach Arne Slot a historic war chest designed to secure long-term dominance rather than short-term stability. That spending spree briefly made Florian Wirtz the most expensive footballer in British history following his move from Bayer Leverkusen. Within weeks, that record was eclipsed when Liverpool prised Alexander Isak away from Newcastle United, committing £125m to a striker expected to lead the next era. Instead of instant impact, the opening half of the campaign has been defined by disruption. Liverpool sit ninth in the table, while Isak has scored just twice in 15 appearances, struggling to rediscover the sharpness that made him one of the league’s most coveted forwards.

In an interview with Sportbladet,Isak acknowledged the difficulties of adapting to life at Anfield amid tactical change, physical setbacks and fluctuating results. 

When asked about a simple answer to the cause of the problems, he said: "No, I don't think so. I don't really have the answer to that. The team-wise thing – it's clear that it's been slow, but that's how it is in football. There are always teams that are flying, and then it's slower for others. It's about turning that around. And for me too… it's not the first time in my career that I've gone through a period like this, or been in bad shape. That's how a football career works, it's just something you have to fight your way out of."

Liverpool’s collective struggles have mirrored Isak’s own. Slot’s first full campaign has demanded adaptation across the squad, with new signings bedding in and established figures learning unfamiliar roles. Injuries have compounded the challenge, leaving rhythm elusive and confidence fragile. Isak accepts that instant chemistry was always unlikely.
"That's always what you hope for, that everything will just flow," he said. "But not everything goes as planned, and then you have to take it as it comes."

That realism has been tested by results. The defending champions have dropped points in clusters, slipping into the bottom half and inviting questions about whether the rebuild has come too quickly, too expensively.

The Sweden international also admitted that experience has changed the way he processes adversity.

"That comes with experience," he said. "As I said: Never too high, never too low. Trying to find that balance, that's what I feel I've gotten better at."

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Few have been harsher in their assessment than Isak himself. The striker admitted his goal return is nowhere near acceptable by his own standards, while stressing that injuries have disrupted his momentum.

Earlier in December, he told Sky Sports: "It's not been easy, of course, individually and also collectively. We've not had the best results lately. Of course, I wish more from me as well, so I think that's pretty obvious. I'm trying to stay positive, we as a team as well, it's a really good group and we're just looking forward and trying to do better as a team.

"I expect to do much more of course, I always do that. Even when I do really well, I want more, so that's not a problem for me. But yeah, I'm trying to stay positive, trying to work to do better and that's what we're looking to do. I think obviously I'm the first one to know and I know best when I'm doing good and when I'm not doing good. So I don't need anyone to tell me how I'm doing, so that's not a problem for me."

Liverpool’s task will not get easier in the short term. Saturday’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur comes without Mohamed Salah, who has departed for Africa Cup of Nations duty. The timing is unforgiving, but it may also offer opportunity: a chance for Liverpool’s record signing to assert himself without comparison to the club’s modern icon.