4 hours ago
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Arne Slot is of the opinion that Alexander Isak will only ascend to the status of the world's best striker when he clinches the most prestigious trophies.
The Liverpool manager believes they've secured one of the planet's finest in a record-breaking signing from Newcastle. However, Slot maintains that his new No. 9 must secure top accolades like the Premier League and Champions League before he can be considered the world's best. It comes after Pep Guardiola suggested Erling Haaland still has the edge on Liverpool's striker.
When questioned if he is the best striker in the world, Slot responded: "One of them. 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."
Isak, aged 25, is expected to be on the bench for Sunday's match against Burnley at Turf Moor as the Reds aim to keep their perfect start to the season and remain at the top of the Premier League.
The Swedish striker has clearly demonstrated his abilities with 54 Premier League goals in three seasons at Newcastle, and he also contributed to the Magpies' Carabao Cup victory last season, defeating the Reds in the final.
But now he faces the pressure of playing for Liverpool and carrying the British record transfer fee.
Slot stated: "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."
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