Alexander Isak Has Arrived At Liverpool. How Will Arne Slot Get Best Out Of Him?

On nan look of it, it’s not difficult to spot why Liverpool would want Alexander Isak. He will not move 26 until later this period and has scored much than 20 Premier League goals successful each of nan past 2 seasons, thing matched only by Erling Haaland. But he offers much than conscionable goals; he’s a very modern centre-forward.

Thirty aliases 40 years ago, erstwhile 4-4-2 was still nan ascendant formation, onslaught pairings tended to travel successful 2 forms: either target-man and finisher, aliases creator and finisher. These days, nan very champion centre-forwards harvester traits of each three. This is not wholly new: nan days of Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush aliases Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips are agelong gone and shot has been acquainted for immoderate clip pinch players of nan ilk of Didier Drogba, Andriy Shevchenko and Radamel Falcao, forwards pinch gait and immoderate blend of physicality and method ability.

Haaland, immense and accelerated and a good finisher, felt for illustration a one-man hold of that, almost a generational freak successful nan mode of nan fabled Argentinian Bernabé Ferreyra aliases the flawed Russian awesome Eduard Streltsov.

But while Haaland astatine 6ft 5in still leads nan measurement successful position of being a blend of size and pace, location are plentifulness of others successful his mould. This summer’s transportation model has been characterised by nan awesome carousel of strikers, astir of whom conform to nan template. Isak is 6ft 4in, Benjamin Sesko and Nick Woltemade are 6ft 5in, Viktor Gyökeres, Hugo Ekitiké and Randal Kolo Muani are 6ft 2in, and Liam Delap and Victor Osimhen are 6ft 1in, yet nary of them could beryllium classed arsenic target men. All are mobile, each person method expertise and nary are reliant connected trundling to nan backmost station to meet agelong diagonals.

Isak has not historically been particularly prolific successful nan air, and his comparatively wiry build intends he is not going to bully galore centre-backs, but 4 of his 23 goals past play were headers, including arguably his astir memorable, arsenic he met an outswinging transverse from Anthony Gordon connected nan correct to get nan victor against Arsenal.

More evidently eye-catching is his capacity to tally nan channels and activity crossed nan beforehand line, receiving nan shot successful wide areas arsenic good arsenic successful nan box. Although he was chiefly utilized arsenic a cardinal striker astatine Real Sociedad, location were times location erstwhile he played connected some nan near and nan correct flanks.

The early grounds suggests Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah will flank Isak successful Arne Slot’s preferred 4-3-3 formation. Photograph: Scott Heppell/Reuters

Given really Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah people trim infield, and truthful request nan striker to get retired of nan measurement to create abstraction for them, it’s easy to spot really nan 3 could shape an highly fluid guardant line, but pinch nan added advantage that Isak tin beryllium utilized much successful nan mode of a accepted striker to effort to meet crosses, albeit much pinch clever activity than by overpowering his markers. He besides has an explosive move of pace, truthful could possibly use from done balls played by Florian Wirtz.

That suggests it will usually beryllium a lawsuit of Isak aliases Ekitiké successful nan starting lineup, though nan France international, for illustration Isak, is mobile and by nary intends fixed to a cardinal role. At Eintracht Frankfurt location were times erstwhile Ekitiké played alongside Omar Marmoush successful a 4-4-2. Although that would not look a earthy measurement to get nan champion retired of Salah, there’s nary logic why Ekitiké and Isak could not play arsenic a pair, whether that is successful a 4-4-2 – Gakpo has astatine times played connected nan near broadside of midfield and, fixed Dominik Szoboszlai’s new-found capacity to run astatine full-back, it would look reasonable to suppose he could besides run arsenic a constrictive right-sided midfielder, possibly pinch Jeremie Frimpong overlapping.

Beginning to scheme for a early aft Salah makes sense. He is 33 and his statement expires successful 2027, meaning adjacent summertime would look a logical clip to offload him. Without Salah, location is little request to instrumentality to nan 4-3-3 that has characterised really Liverpool person played for astir of nan past decade, moreover if Slot is characteristically Dutch successful his penchant for wide forwards.

For each nan play and money spent, Liverpool person ended up pinch arsenic galore forwards arsenic they had past season. It whitethorn consciousness distasteful to talk the calamity of Diogo Jota’s death successful nan discourse of squad readying but nan grim reality is that he near a abstraction that nan nine had to fill. With Darwin Núñez and Luis Díaz sold, and Wirtz, Ekitiké and Isak arriving, Liverpool’s squad has akin extent to past season, but possibly greater quality. The uncertainty is that, for each its versatility, it is simply a small much focused connected nan centre.

And nan bigger concern, perhaps, is that nan squad abruptly looks very frontloaded. For each nan attacking options, location is simply a threat Liverpool are near short astatine nan backmost of midfield. But if Szoboszlai tin beryllium an effective right-back, Slot could person each mode of contingencies lined up.