Alexander Isak’s long summer saga finally gave way to relief this week, as the record-breaking Liverpool signing was back in training with Sweden and looking happier than ever. The £125 million move from Newcastle United to Liverpool has been one of the biggest stories of the transfer window, and now it seems Isak is turning the page.
After days of speculation, tension, and miscommunication, Isak returned to international duty with a smile—joining the Swedish national team ahead of their World Cup qualifiers against Slovenia and Kosovo. Even though the transfer to Liverpool had just closed, he showed no obvious signs of fatigue, according to reports from Stockholm.
His return to training is not just symbolic. It marks a tipping point: Isak missed a large part of pre-season due to the drawn-out transfer, and was kept apart from Newcastle’s squad in recent weeks. Now, he’s training with his teammates again, working to regain sharpness, rhythm, and fitness.
Viktor Gyökeres, another Swedish striker who also moved clubs this summer to Arsenal, empathised strongly with what Isak went through. Having faced his own challenges in finalising a move, Gyökeres publicly congratulated Isak on securing his transfer and expressed how much of a burden it must have felt to be caught in limbo.
Gyökeres also pushed back against media narratives about so-called “player power” — the idea that a player holds all the cards in big transfers. He said, in contrast, that clubs often have the real leverage in these situations. In Isak’s case, Gyökeres seemed to suggest the Swedish forward’s move involved more complexity than meets the eye.
Sweden’s coach, Jon Dahl Tomasson, has spoken cautiously about Isak’s readiness. While Isak is training well, the long break from full match play means he isn’t yet ready for extended minutes. The plan seems to be to ease him in to avoid injury or burnout.
The national team setup has communicated with Liverpool’s coaching staff to manage Isak’s load. The transfer may be done, but ensuring he’s physically and mentally primed appears to be a priority before he steps out in competitive matches for his new club.
Fans at Liverpool are eagerly awaiting his debut, but patience seems to be the watchword. With high expectations come high risk: rushing a star forward who hasn’t trained properly could backfire. That’s something both Sweden and Liverpool seem keen to avoid.
Meanwhile, Isak himself has made clear that while the public often sees the headlines, there’s always more going on behind the scenes. He’s declined to share every detail of the Newcastle-Liverpool transfer, saying that not “everyone has the full picture.” Still, he described the move as a positive reset: focusing on football, learning from the experience off the pitch, and getting back to what matters.
In short: Isak’s return to training, the warmth from Gyökeres, and the measured approach by Sweden and Liverpool suggest that his much-anticipated chapter at Anfield is off to a careful, hopeful start. All the signs are that he’ll soon be available—and when he is, expectations will be enormous.
