Liverpool boss Arne Slot already commented on Alexander Isak as he asks to leave Newcastle

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has already admitted he's in awe of Alexander Isak's shooting ability. The Newcastlestriker sent shockwaves through English football on Thursday when he wentpublic with his desire to leave the Premier League club after three years.

Isak did not travel with Eddie Howe's side on their pre-season tour to Singapore and has had his head turned by interest from the league champions, who made a formal approach to sign him for £120million earlier this month.

While the Magpies responded with the familiar line that the Sweden international is not for sale, the striker no longer sees his future with the League Cup winners, with Liverpool the favourites to capture his signature.

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Some may have thought the Reds' acquisition of Hugo Ekitike for £79million on Wednesday would have meant a deal for Isak was no longer feasible, but that doesn't seem to be the case for Slot, who seems keen to make him his sixth major signing of the summer.

The Dutchman has enjoyed a summer of heavy spending with the Reds investing just shy of £300m following their Premier League triumph last season. The number nine position was a weak point for Slot, who opted to use Luis Diaz centrally for much of the season, with Darwin Nunez and the late Diogo Jota unable to find consistency in front of goal.

Slot's appreciation for Isak should therefore come as no surprise, especially given the praise he handed the striker, who scored twice against Liverpool last season, after their 3-3 draw at St James' Park last December.

Isak opened the scoring with a thunderous strike, which Slot commented on after full-time. He said: "That they are able to score a goal, that's not a surprise for me, and especially the first one, what a finish that was. That shot from Isak, I don't even know if Caoimh [Kelleher] saw that goal, as hard as it was."

Liverpool won the return fixture 2-0 in February, and while the Swede was not in the squad, he was still subject to compliments from Slot. "It's an understatement to say that he's in fine form," he said. "I think he's in excellent form. It's the team performance which will help us control him.

"The more ball possession we have, the easier it is to control him. Although he's definitely a threat on the counter-attack as well. The good thing for us is that we've got two centre-backs that are probably one of the best players that are able to play against him.

"We have two very, very good centre-backs and that's definitely what you need if you face a striker with the quality of Alexander Isak." The striker came back to haunt Liverpool at Wembley when he scored Newcastle's second in their 2-1 win over the Reds in the League Cup final.

Despite Isak's preference to leave the club, Newcastle are under little financial pressure to part ways with him, given they remain in line with profit and sustainability rules. The Swede also has a contract that runs until 2028.

However, Howe may be wary of the damage that keeping an unhappy player can cause on the morale of the squad and with Premier League football returning in three weeks, a decision on his future must soon be made.

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