Liverpool won the Premier League last season, before breaking the club's all-time transfer record to sign Florian Wirtz in the summer. They also added new signings Giorgi Mamardashvili, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Hugo Ekitike.
Arne Slot's side have risen to the top of the table after Dominik Szoboszlai's stunning free-kick against Arsenal last weekend. This victory also helped Liverpool become the only team to win all 3 first rounds of the Premier League 2025-2026.
Not stopping there, in the early hours of Monday (UK time), the media revealed that Liverpool had reached a record fee deal to recruit Alexander Isak from Newcastle.
Isak signed a 6-year contract with Liverpool, adding strength to the already very strong squad. This is another determined statement from the reigning Premier League champions.
That is the story of the summer of 2025: an interesting initial deal, but with too many small updates and few notable events, it almost became boring. However, when everything was officially completed, reality gradually permeated fans.
Isak has played excellently in his 3 years at Newcastle, becoming the club's best striker since Alan Shearer. Those 3 years were also a brilliant time in his career. Despite his remarkable progress at Tyneside, Isak was already a promising talent before joining the team in 2022.
Isak has previously made a splash across Europe in the AIK shirt, scoring 19 goals in 24 games at Allsvenskan in 2016. This achievement helped him move to Borussia Dortmund at the age of 18. Despite his failure in Germany, Isak found a new home at Real Sociedad two and a half years later.
With the trust of coach Imanol Alguacil, Isak has gradually affirmed himself. The peak was in the second season. He made a big contribution to Sociedad winning their first Copa del Rey in 33 years.
In total, Isak scored 44 goals in 132 appearances for Sociedad in all competitions. Notably, he started 94 matches and only two of those goals came from the penalty spot.
Some have questioned whether Isak is worthy of the huge amount of money spent by Newcastle in 2022, especially when he has only scored 6 goals in 32 matches in La Liga in the 2021-2022 season. However, a season before that, the Swedish striker had scored 17 goals in 34 matches, and left a strong impression at EURO 2020 (held late due to the pandemic).
It was these performances that convinced Newcastle to spend the club's record fee - more than £60 million - to bring Isak to St James' Park. However, this is still a gamble. And in the end, Newcastle were rewarded.
Isak has scored 62 goals (49 goals without penalty) in 109 appearances, including 95 starts in all competitions for the "Magpies".
Despite the prolonged controversy, the Swedish striker has finally helped Newcastle double the investment value. As at Sociedad, he has also made a significant contribution to the club's journey to end their title drought. Isak scored in the 2-1 win over Liverpool in the English League Cup final in March.
After Isak's departure, Newcastle quickly added forces with Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa.
"I would like to express my gratitude to my teammates, the coaching staff, and above all, the city of Newcastle and all the wonderful fans in the 3 memorable years we have spent together.
Together, we have written history and brought the club to where it truly deserves. It is an honor to contribute to the journey from reaching the Champions League to winning the first trophy in more than 70 years. I am forever grateful. Thank you, Newcastle" - Isak said goodbye to Newcastle on social media.
