Former Newcastle United star Chris Waddle says Alexander Isak’s struggles at Liverpool stem from how his £125m move was handled.
Waddle believes the striker is “paying the consequences” of an acrimonious transfer saga that saw him skip Newcastle’s pre-season tour citing injury and train alone at former club Real Sociedad.
After publicly criticising broken promises on Instagram, Isak was frozen out by Eddie Howe before finally sealing his move to Anfield on deadline day.
Without a proper pre-season, Isak has yet to hit form for the Premier League champions.
He scored in the Carabao Cup win over Southampton but suffered a groin injury in the 5-1 Champions League victory against Eintracht Frankfurt, which Waddle attributes to his disrupted summer.
“Fans are critical, and there’s a lot of criticism flying around because Alexander Isak is not performing,” Waddle told BoyleSports.
“You have to realise, he handled it all wrong at Newcastle. He said he wanted to leave, refused to train, and went to Real Sociedad to train basically on his own.
“He didn’t play any friendlies, then went to Liverpool and suddenly he’s in the Premier League which is a hard and physical league, mentally as well.
“He hasn’t hit the ground running at all. He’s probably two or three weeks behind most players.
“We know he’s a talented footballer and he will probably come good. I’m not saying he won’t, but he handled it all wrong and he’s paying the consequences now for being behind.
“He hasn’t done well with Sweden either.
“Sweden never qualify for the World Cup despite some of the players they have, and they are bottom of their group. It’s just unbelievable.”
Waddle added: “But listen, the longer it goes without him scoring and playing well, his confidence will be sapped.
“We’ve seen this with Florian Wirtz, a young, very talented player who is unfortunately now on the bench.
“So it’s going to take Isak time to settle. He needs to start scoring goals, but he has to work on his fitness and sharpness. The only way he’s going to get that is by playing games.
“But if he’s not scoring the manager will be tempted to leave him on the bench and bring him on for half an hour, which he probably never anticipated would happen to him.
“So, yes, I think he’s a bit of a concern, but he will come good because he’s done it before.”
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