Arne Slot's Alexander Isak admission is cause for ALARM | OneFootball

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has found himself under pressure in recent weeks owing to some indifferent results.

The Reds’ Premier League title challenge isn’t going well with the Champions currently languishing in mid-table. That despite sporting director Richard Hughes spending £450m on new players over the summer transfer window.

Slot has not been able to find a solution to get the best out of the new faces as well as the performers already on the books. Among the signings made in the summer was Alexander Isak from Newcastle.

The 26-year-old scored 23 times in the top flight for the Toon last season and Liverpool’s expectations were sky high following his deadline day deal.

Alexander Isak cost £125m

The Sweden international cost £125m - the fourth most-expensive player in football history and the costliest British transfer of all time.

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For their money Liverpool have got only one Premier League goal from their record acquisition and it’s clear he is not yet the player he was at St. James’ Park.

There are many reasons why this may be the case - from a lack of match fitness to Liverpool’s all-round inability to get the ball to their strikers.

But one reason mentioned as a possible explanation for Isak’s lack of output is unlikely to wash with Liverpool fans. And the fact it came from Slot himself suggests that the Liverpool head coach is going to find it very hard to solve this striking crisis.

Alexander Isak struggling to get going

“But the main difference for him is that we are facing a low block many times,” he told the press ahead of Liverpool’s game against Leeds United.

“It is not that it never happened at Newcastle but not as much, I think.

“This season the league has changed, we see so many more low blocks than last season.

“But I see this not only against us, I see this in many games. It makes it harder for him compared to his time at Newcastle but I think it is also him adjusting to his teammates and his teammates adjusting to him.

“But it is obvious and clear that we have not the profile of [Newcastle’s] Jacob Murphy, for example, available at this moment at this time.”

Read that back.

Arne Slot is suggesting that Isak is struggling to score goals because he’s no longer got Jacob Murphy by his side.

I mean if it was that simple, why not sign Murphy alongside Isak last summer? He’s 30 years old and out of contract in 2027; how much could it realistically have cost?

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We need Jacob Murphy says Arne Slot

But from this quote it is clear that Liverpool’s problems over Isak are profound. Does he really need an exact set of circumstances - that include fielding Murphy - before he gets firing?

What does Slot’s assessment mean for Mo Salah? He was the Premier League’s top assist-maker in the 2024/25 season but all of a sudden he cannot compete with Jacob Murphy?

No doubt the Englishman’s output was very good in that regard last season - contributing 12 assists - but this is not intelligent talk from Slot.

We are led to believe that a major sales pitch from the Dutchman was enough to win over Florian Wirtz amid interest from Manchester City and Real Madrid.

If that’s the case then what exactly did he say to Isak?

And why did Liverpool pay £125m for a striker when the squad didn’t have the right kind of player to supply him?

Liverpool were widely praised for their transfer business over the summer - but the muddled thinking is now becoming apparent.

One Newcastle fan likened the signing of Isak without Murphy as an iPhone without its charger. And now Slot is repeating it.

He really hasn’t helped himself with this statement and he is going to have to come up with a solution for Isak that doesn’t involve Jacob Murphy.