Iraola predicts that Alexander Isak is "going to be massive" for Liverpool this season

Of course, given the time of year, Liverpool supporters' are primarily focussed on new signings, with much of the spotlight on Bradley Barcola. This does feel like a deal that is going to get done, with the Reds having reportedly tabled an opening bid of £80 million, while Paris Saint-Germain are holding out for £145 million.

Nevertheless, it is not just via the transfer market that new head coach Andon Iraola can improve this team. Getting the best out of the players he already has is arguably an even greater priority than recruiting better ones, especially considering Liverpool enormous outlay last summer.

Well, speaking at a press conference at Chicago Fire Endeavor Health Performance Center on Thursday, Andoni Iraola vowed to do just that with Alexander Isak:

"I think he has come in a good place. I think he was good in the World Cup. I saw him comfortable. First training is here and I think I've seen a good version of Alex. Still it's very early because he has just started training. But I hope he can have some minutes against Leeds and build a proper pre-season. It's not going to be very long, but he will have 3 or 4 weeks of quality training I hope and then we can put him in a good place because he is going to be massive for us this season."

Andoni Iraola on Alexander Isak

The final line there "he is going to be massive for us" is certainly the case. For Liverpool to have a successful season, they are going to need Isak to be back to his scintillating best. With Hugo Ekitiké, who scored 17 goals last season, set to miss almost the entire campaign due to injury, a lot of the burden will rest on the Swede's shoulders. So, can he rise to the occasion?

Alexander Isak's miserable first season at Liverpool

After going on strike at Newcastle, training with Real Sociedad and not showing up the PFA awards dinner, despite being named in Team of the Season, last summer could hardly have been more turbulent for Isak. In the end, the striker got his wish, joining Liverpool on deadline day for £125 million, plus £5 million in add-ons. This makes him the most-expensive player in Premier League history, behind only Neymar and Kylian Mbappé anywhere in world football.

This lack of pre-season though completely wrecked his entire campaign. Isak got off to a slow start, netting just three goals before Christmas. In the act of scoring the third at Tottenham, a challenge from Micky van de Ven saw Isak suffer a severe fractured ankle and fibula, sidelined for 112 days.

He did score during a 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Anfield following his return, but ended the campaign with only four goals across 1,032 minutes, starting a miserly 13 times in all competitions, all figures that no one connected with Liverpool would've been pleased with the day he arrived.

Why next season Liverpool will see the real Alexander Isak

As Iraola has clearly acknowledged himself, one of the ways he can make this Liverpool team immediately better is by getting the best out of Isak. So, will this happen? Well, as already mentioned, Ekitiké's gruesome, long-term injury means that he will be the undisputed first-choice centre-forward. Also, Sweden's relatively early World Cup exit, demolished in the round of 32 by France, means the 26 year old will enjoy a proper pre-season, rather than one in apparent solitary confinement as far away from Tyneside as possible.

On top of this, Iraola's tactics and style of play should help unleash Isak. The Spanish manager favours front-foot, high-energy attacking play, in stark contrast to the listless, slow, methodical style Liverpool ended up with during Arne Slot's second season. In the same aforementioned press conference in Chicago on Thursday, the new manager confirmed that he believes Florian Wirtz to be at his best when deployed "in that position behind the striker".

That is surely good news for Isak, having an ultra-talented player such as Wirtz being utilised close to him, not leaving the centre-forward isolated. Those two players, signed for a combined £246 million last summer, have the potential to form one of the deadliest attacking duos the Premier League has ever seen. Thus, it is not a bold assertion to suggest that Isak will surpass last season's tally of four goals during the forthcoming campaign, potentially even doing so by mid-Septembrer.

During his final two years at Newcastle, Isak bagged 21 and then 23 goals in the Premier League alone, very much among the very best strikers on the planet at the time. Well, if he can rediscover those levels, Liverpool could be serious contenders once again.

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