Slot scoffs at claims Alexander Isak is ‘best striker in world’ with big challenge to Liverpool record breaker

Arne Slot has delivered an honest assessment of claims that Alexander Isak is the best striker in the world, having laid down the gauntlet to Liverpool’s costliest-ever player and having also explained why the Reds had no fears spending record-breaking sums to prise him from Newcastle.

The summer’s longest-running transfer saga was finally brought to a close in the final throes of the summer transfer window when Liverpool agreed to shatter their own record, set just a few weeks earlier on Florian Wirtz, when forking out a British record £125m fee to sign Isak.

The 25-year-old has moved to Anfield on a six-year deal, having pushed relentlessly all summer to secure his exit from Newcastle, with the Magpies digging in their claws until the final 24 hours of the window.

While there are some who feel the €144m ($167.5m) fee to land Isak is steep, others have countered it by stating Liverpool now have the best striker in the world on their hands.

That billing was put before Slot, though the Reds manager was rapidly played down that tag and instead insists the Sweden striker can only be considered that when he starts winning silverware regularly.

“One of them!” Slot responded to the claim, before adding: “At this moment in time, he isn’t – for the simple reason he has been out for four months.

“If you write I said he is not the best in the world, you have to add that [bit] or it is not completely fair because he is one of the best in the world.

“But for him to become THE best in the world, I think the best players in the world win trophies and that is what he and we need to do for him, or someone else, to be seen as the best or one of the best.”

MORE ON ISAK

🔴 Alexander Isak nightmare as fitness concerns hit Liverpool as he’s booked and booed for Sweden

🔴 Why Liverpool fans may have to wait for Alexander Isak debut

Slot offers explanation of Liverpool’s transfer policy after record Isak deal

Slot was also keen to deflect attention away from the fee Liverpool had spent on prising Isak from Tyneside to Merseyside, with the pressure of being the most expensive British player of all time potentially weighing heavily on the player’s shoulders.

Slot added: “It might put pressure on him and me, but nothing extra, but if have this on your shirt [points to Liverpool badge] there is always pressure. If we wouldn’t have signed him, you would probably have told me that you still expect us to compete for the league, which is what we expect from ourselves so this pressure is always there.

“In terms of the money spent for one player, that is also part of our model. It is not the first time we have done this. We did it when I was not there, the ownership did this with Virgil [van Dijk], with Ali [Becker] and now with Florian [Wirtz] now as well, this is the model we use.

“We target a player and we want to have him. We decide what his value is, if that matches with what the club wants, then we are not afraid to act.

“We get that money from trading players and winning the league after we didn’t spend anything at all.”

The best striker in the world? Isak’s record over the last five seasons

Liverpool latest: Reds to OBLITERATE record again; Barca want top Slot target

Meanwhile, Isak’s status as the most costly player in British football history may not last that long amid new reports that they are ready to obliterate the record once again, this time by spending around €150m to land an elite France international.

Elsewhere, Liverpool face a major battle to sign Marc Guehi in January, with a report revealing how much Barcelona believe they can get the Crystal Palace captain for.

Off the back of Liverpool’s record-breaking summer spend, we have also taken a look at the Reds’ 11 best-paid players and who is really making the most money at Anfield.