It has been a whole summer without Alexander Isak playing any football matches after refusing to train with Newcastle, but the 25-year-old has been selected for the Swedish World Championship qualifying squad that gathered in Stockholm on Monday.
He arrives as a fresh Liverpool player. At 22:29, Swedish time, on Monday evening, the reigning Premier League champion confirmed the transfer and posted a picture on social media of Isak wearing a Liverpool jersey.
"Want to write history"
"I want to write history. I want to win titles. That's what drives me in the end, and I feel that this is the perfect place for me to develop further," he says to the club's website.
The Swede gets the jersey number nine. A number that has been worn by, for example, club legend Ian Rush, who scored 346 goals in 660 matches for Liverpool. Steve Heighway, Robbie Fowler, and Fernando Torres are other well-known players who have had the nine on the red jersey back.
"It means a lot, it's an iconic number. It also brings a responsibility, of course, but I'm glad to get this chance and this number," says Isak.
National team coach Jon Dahl Tomasson sees Isak primarily as a substitute in the World Championship qualifying matches away against Slovenia on Friday and against Kosovo on Monday. Only after the national team gathering will the 25-year-old meet his new teammates in Liverpool for the first time.
The debut can take place on September 14 in the Premier League meeting with Burnley away at Turf Moor. After that, three matches await in quick succession at home at Anfield - against Atlético Madrid (Champions League), local rival Everton (Premier League), and Southampton (league cup).
Three straight wins
Liverpool has started the season's title defense with three straight wins. Hugo Etikité, who was recruited from Eintracht Frankfurt for around one billion kronor this summer, has repeatedly been trusted as the central striker. The Frenchman found the net in the first two matches but was goalless in the weekend's 1-0 win over Arsenal.
Alexander Isak, on the other hand, has scored 54 goals in 86 league appearances with Newcastle, figures that contributed to Liverpool now buying him for a new record amount in the Premier League. According to reports, it is a price tag of 130 million pounds (approximately 1.66 billion kronor).
