22 Jun 2026 05:33:36
Ed1 - do you think Isak will come good this season? Or does he seem unable to get fit again to you?
{Ed001's Note - I think his fitness has to be a huge concern, those pictures of his leg are disturbing. I am not convinced he will ever be a 100% fit anyway, he never was before, so why would he be after more injuries?}
22 Jun 2026 07:58:21
We should never have signed him. I spent all last summer saying Osimhen and Lautaro were the better options.
Isak is a huge concern. If we get him fit for 30-40 games a season, all comps, he'll probably bag 20-25 goals a year. That's simply not good enough for £125m though.
22 Jun 2026 07:58:48
Isak looked great in the game against the Netherlands, to be fair. He didn't get on the ball as much as he should have, but when he did, he was extremely efficient and was Sweden's best player. He kept dropping deep and orchestrating play, or popping up on the left to run at players, played a fair few excellent through balls, one of which set up the goal, carried the ball through the lines, set Gyokeres up once or twice, got two or three shots on target, one from distance, even nutmegged Virgil once.
He also looked like he was much fitter than the game before; his running on and off the ball looked much more fitting of a top level footballer, and he no longer looked like he was a yard off the pace.
22 Jun 2026 08:37:09
PB's quality is not in any doubt. Fit and on form, he's arguably the best CF in the game right now, but he's so rarely fit that finding form is also a challenge for him.
The tactics last season made him look a lot worse (4 goals in 22 games), so I'm fully expecting Iraola to resolve that and see Isak bag 20+ next season.
It's just that for £125m I'd have expected a striker who could play 60 games a season and score 40+ goals. I'd expect Haaland or Mbappe goal returns for that sort of money. Isak is every bit as good as them as a footballer, but the most important ability is availability.
22 Jun 2026 08:11:26
Hi Ed01, hope you are well mate and getting ready for heat this week. Can I ask what pictures regarding Isaks leg you are referring to?
{Ed001's Note - there were pics I was sent of his knee and it looked dodgy as hell. There was a lot of talk that he has done some serious damage to it. No idea how true that is, but he has always had fitness problems anyway. Newcastle would manage his training and playing to deal with it. For me, that is why we so much needed Ekitike as well as Isak last summer, as neither were capable of playing the full season, even without picking up further injuries. We still need cover for that position, which is why, for me, the addition of Nunez on a free makes sense, even if he is not the long term answer.}
22 Jun 2026 09:49:52
Despite every signing being a gamble to some degree, I really think bringing in Isak was too high a gamble, if you factor in the signing price and wages. And, if you consider his history of not being fit (injuries or otherwise), I get the feeling that we're in Carroll, Benteke and Nunez territory, once again. Flashes of brilliance once in a blue moon, but nothing consistent.
And, I read all the posts where Iraola is being portrayed as some kind of magician who will turn everything around (particularly with Isak and Wirtz). It's actually more up to the player to do really well, than the coach, in my view. I hope we're not setting ourselves up.
22 Jun 2026 10:01:36
His knee is fine, he's just a slim guy, smaller limbs, nothing wrong with that, he has a bony knee on the left.
I've seen him do so many knee slides after scoring.
I'm sure his niggles will clear up, but overall I think he is a solid investment for LFC.
22 Jun 2026 10:32:46
Isak had an awful season last year, be it not being fit enough, injured, or lack of match sharpness, but I'm not overly concerned.
The club bought Darwin for 86 mill, and he never broke the 20 goal mark in any of his 3 seasons, so if Isak gets 20-25 a season and the club win trophies, then he will be a good signing.
Quite hard to compare any forward to Haaland and Mbappe. Both are on around triple what Isak is paid, and in reported signing on fees and agents fees, both cost around the same as what the club paid for Isak.
22 Jun 2026 10:45:04
Isak went missing during 90% of the Netherlands game, reports of him having created the most chances are a stark contrast to his actual performance; it was as if he wasn't on the pitch most of the time.
22 Jun 2026 11:15:45
I think he played well, especially in the first half, dropped deep a few times to get Sweden up the pitch, a lot of his passing was incisive and forward thinking, his use of the ball was generally very intelligent, and, most importantly, he looked like an athlete on and off the ball again, I think he showed what a good footballer he is rather than simply being a deadly striker.
Tired in the second half, but it was a much more encouraging performance compared to the previous game overall.
22 Jun 2026 10:42:22
Cheers ed, knees are no good to you if they don't work properly.
22 Jun 2026 11:16:49
I believe that he is not a good purchase. Too many variables regarding his fitness, and that means you cannot rely on his availability. Lauturo Martinez was the one to buy. Not Isak. We should have kept Salah to play the number 9 role for the upcoming season.