Why Alexander Isak is ready for the spotlight at Liverpool

When Alexander Isak was promoted to the AIK archetypal squad astatine the property of 16, 1 of his coaches made a telling request.

"I said to him 'Hey Alex ... I took you to the archetypal squad here, truthful erstwhile you spell to Real Madrid oregon different large club, you'll instrumentality maine with you,'" Peter Wennberg, who coached Isak astatine some younker and elder levels during his clip successful Sweden, told ESPN.

Almost a decennary on, Wennberg's tongue-in-cheek request appears prophetic, though it is Premier League champions Liverpool -- not Madrid -- who person secured Isak's signature for a British-record £125m transportation fee.

It has been the transportation saga of the summer, with Isak fundamentally forcing his mode retired of erstwhile nine Newcastle United aft claiming "promises had been broken" by elder figures astatine St. James' Park. Such claims were rapidly refuted connected Tyneside, but Isak's departure began to consciousness progressively inevitable and connected deadline day, helium was yet unveiled arsenic Liverpool's caller No.9.

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Isak's arguable transportation tactics person attracted disapproval successful immoderate quarters and yet past dictates the 25-year-old is not averse to taking bid of his ain future. Indeed, adjacent successful his astir formative years, the striker seldom passed up an accidental to prehend his infinitesimal -- arsenic evidenced during his clip astatine AIK.

"When Alex was astir 16, each clip helium came to our grooming crushed and passed the coaches, helium would conscionable accidental 'Hi,' and past spell to the locker room," Wennberg tells ESPN. "One time erstwhile helium passed us, I screamed astatine him to travel back. He stood there, and I said: 'Hey, determination are 7 coaches present each readying for your future, and the lone happening you bash erstwhile you travel successful is accidental 'Hi.' Where is the passion?' He said: 'Okay, I perceive what you're saying.'

"Then, the adjacent clip helium came to training, helium came to america straight and said 'hey coaches, what person you got planned for maine today?' That's emblematic of Isak. He is driving his future. He is not letting his destiny beryllium successful anyone else's hands. He is driving it."

Isak's strong-willed persona suggests he'll beryllium anxious to amusement Liverpool fans what helium is each astir arsenic rapidly arsenic possible. Having missed the bulk of Newcastle's preseason grooming regime, doing fittingness enactment distant from the squad portion his aboriginal was resolved, the striker was an unused substitute successful Sweden's caller gully with Slovenia, and was reduced to conscionable 1 18-minute cameo against Kosovo earlier this week.

The outstanding signifier of chap summertime signing Hugo Ekitike -- who has already scored doubly successful the Premier League this word since joining from Eintracht Frankfurt -- diminishes the request for Isak to beryllium match-fit immediately, nevertheless supporters volition beryllium hoping to drawback a glimpse of him successful Liverpool's clash with Burnley this weekend.

"When you bid with him, you consciousness his warring spirit"

There are 2 flags disposable successful Isak's Instagram bio. The archetypal represent...