Alexander Isak releases 14-word statement after surprising Arne Slot on Liverpool debut

Alexander Isak shared his gratitude to Liverpool fans after making his debut. The forward made a record-breaking £125m switch from Newcastle United on transfer deadline day after a protracted summer saga.

The Sweden international had, effectively, downed tools at St James Park in a bid to engineer a move, missing the Magpies' pre-season tour of the Far East and training solo after his team-mates returned to Tyneside. His wish was finally granted on deadline day, as Liverpool finally got the man they had been chasing all summer.

The Reds are handling the striker with care after a disrupted pre-season, with manager Arne Slot opting to leave Isak out of his squad for their recent trip to Burnley. The decision was made with one eye on the Reds' showdown with Atletico Madrid, with Slot also revealing he expected Isak to be fit enough to play at least 45 minutes against the La Liga side - as per The Liverpool Echo.

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As predicted, the 25-year-old striker was chosen to start against the Spanish giants, and put in an encouraging performance during his 58-minute debut. He was also given a rousing reception by the Anfield faithful when his name was announced before kick-off and when he was substituted just before the hour-mark.

Following the match, Isak took to Instagram to outline his joy at making his much-anticipated debut for Liverpool and to thank the club's supporters. He wrote: "Amazing night to make my debut. Thank you for the warm welcome reds! YNWA."

It came after Slot had shared his surprise at Isak's levels of fitness during his debut, despite a largely disrupted summer. He said in a post match press conference: "I was positively surprised by how fit he was during that 60 minutes.

"But that maybe, probably, tells you that it might be a difference to sign a 20-year-old from a different league, or sign a 25 or 26-year-old that is used to playing in this league. Although he's only trained for two weeks, he has so many games under his belt that he is probably more able to be ready for 60.

"But I was positively surprised how fit he was, I wasn't surprised by his quality because that's what we all know. You don't have to be a manager to recognise how much quality he has.

"But it's always nice to see if a player starts the way he starts, like Hugo Ekitike [who] started the same as he did. Yeah, a good start, only 60 minutes and now we have to build him up from here. But I can tell you he is not going to play 90 again on Saturday."

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