![\"Alexander](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_JS382538192.jpg\")
Alexander Isak joined Liverpool from Newcastle United on deadline day(Image: Jonathan Brady\/PA Wire)<\/p>\nAlexander Isak became Liverpool’s record signing when he joined the Reds from Newcastle United on transfer deadline dayAlexander Isak joined Liverpool from Newcastle United on deadline day(Image: Jonathan Brady\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n
Liverpool<\/a> have been given a theory as to why Newcastle United may have “delayed” finalising a deal for Alexander Isak<\/a>. The Reds secured the Swedish international from the Magpies on transfer deadline day after months of rumours.<\/p>\n Isak joined Liverpool<\/a> in a record-breaking \u00a3125million deal, making him the most expensive signing in both Anfield and British transfer history. Since his move to Merseyside, the striker has netted one goal, having been assigned an individual fitness programme following his departure from St James’ Park.<\/p>\n Prior to his move to Liverpool, Isak was training separately from the Newcastle<\/a> first-team squad and hadn’t made a single appearance during pre-season or in the Premier League<\/a> this term.<\/p>\n Consequently, the 26-year-old has been working on his fitness since joining the Reds and has started the last two top-flight matches.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Arne Slot sent Federico Chiesa demand as ‘underwhelming’ Liverpool star called out<\/a>READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp to Liverpool 10 years on – defining games, best transfers and lasting legacy<\/a><\/p>\n Former Newcastle star Jeff Hendrick, who spent four years at Tyneside before departing in the summer of 2024, has offered a theory as to why Isak’s transfer to Liverpool wasn’t finalised until the very end of the transfer window.<\/p>\n “If his situation was a year earlier, I would have crossed paths with him in the bomb squad,” Hendrick revealed in a chat with Boyle Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Unfortunately, I didn’t. I was probably more surprised by how long it drew out publicly, two months.<\/p>\n “Who knows, before they broke up for summer, there was talk of stuff being guaranteed behind closed doors. It must have been the case for him to push it that much.<\/p>\n “I think it was always going to happen, even a month out. It was inevitable, there couldn’t be a U-turn. The fans weren’t happy. Then it was more Newcastle dragging it out, waiting to line up the player they wanted.<\/p>\n “I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a little bit of tactics involved: ‘Let’s send him to Liverpool not fit. He won’t have had a proper pre-season. They’re going to have to get him fit. They’ve got a backlog of games.'”<\/p>\n “Because if you look at it, he’s obviously played a couple of games, but he’s not an Alexander Isak of \u00a3120million. So it’s probably clever from them.”<\/p>\n Isak’s next opportunity to play for Liverpool will be on October 19 when the reigning Premier League champions host Manchester United<\/a> in the Premier League.<\/p>\n The game will see Isak and Co. look to end Liverpool’s current run of three consecutive defeats, having not won a game since beating Southampton<\/a> in the Carabao Cup last month.<\/p>\n Join our new WhatsApp community<\/a> and receive your daily dose of Mirror<\/a> Football<\/a> content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alexander Isak became Liverpool’s record signing when he joined the Reds from Newcastle United on transfer deadline dayAlexander…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483083,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[9261,763,11492,101,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-483082","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-alexander-isak","9":"tag-liverpool-fc","10":"tag-newcastle-united-fc","11":"tag-premier-league","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115338864544168114","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}