Alexander Isak’s career has taken a dramatic and painful turn over the last half-year, and the story that once revolved around his potential and brilliance has now become one of frustration, silence, and a lingering sense of regret.
His last goal for Newcastle United came on 4 May 2025, a calm penalty converted against Brighton. Few could have imagined that this routine Premier League moment would become the final time he celebrated in black and white. Since that day, more than six and a half months have passed, and the striker has found the net only once for either club or country.
That single goal came for Liverpool on 23 September 2025 in a League Cup tie against Southampton. Even that moment was overshadowed by the messy circumstances that surrounded his transfer.
After weeks of rumours, tension and speculation, Isak forced through a £130m move to Liverpool by refusing to train or play for Newcastle. His choice sparked debates centred mostly around how Newcastle’s form might collapse without him.
But very few stopped to consider how such a decision could affect Isak himself or how his new club and his national team might pay the price for a player who suddenly disconnected from responsibility.
The consequences have now come sharply into focus. The last six months have brought a steady stream of disappointment for Isak, Liverpool and Sweden. He has struggled for form, for fitness, for trust and, most visibly, for opportunities. Matches pass him by while he sits in silence on the bench, a talented striker unable to escape the shadow of his own decisions.
Sweden’s national team reached a new low last night, and Isak’s absence became a symbol of their decline. As they slumped to the bottom of their World Cup qualifying group without a single win, their humiliation played out in front of a frustrated home crowd.
They finished twelve points behind Switzerland, nine behind Kosovo and only two ahead of Slovenia. Under pressure and running out of ideas, Graham Potter made five substitutions in an attempt to rescue something from the game.
Yet Isak never moved from his seat, perhaps fully aware of the reaction he would receive if he stepped onto the pitch at a moment when his country needed leadership he has not shown for months.
Sweden managed to scrape a point thanks to a late equaliser from Lundgren in the 87th minute, but nothing about this campaign feels redeemable. Their supposed star striker remained hidden on the bench, offering no inspiration and no spark quite the contrast from the player who once looked destined to carry Sweden into a new era.
What makes this situation even more striking is how little Isak has contributed since his goal against Southampton. Since that night, Sweden and Liverpool have played fourteen matches he could have featured in had he been fit, committed and ready.
Out of those fourteen games, the two sides have lost ten, won only three and drawn once. These results reveal how deeply both teams have felt the absence of a striker who was supposed to drive them forward.
Instead, his refusal to train for Newcastle and his uneven time at Liverpool have left him drifting between squads without influence.
Emil Krafth, one of Isak’s former Newcastle teammates, did at least feature in Sweden’s latest match, playing the first sixty-five minutes before being substituted.
For him, Anthony Elanga and others in the squad, the only small comfort comes from the fact that Sweden’s past Nations League performances have earned them a place in the World Cup play-offs in March. Even that feels like a stroke of luck rather than a result of current merit.
Isak’s comments earlier in the week, after he played half an hour in the 4–1 defeat to Switzerland, added another layer to the confusion surrounding him. He insisted he felt physically fine and claimed his body reacted well after the match.
He spoke about frustration, about wanting to play, about learning to deal with injuries and setbacks. He sounded positive and eager, yet when the next match arrived, he stayed seated, offering no explanation through actions.
He mentioned how difficult it is to be away from the pitch and how experience teaches players to handle tough periods. But words mean very little when the reality is that he has barely stepped on the field and has seen his form evaporate during one of the most important phases of his career.
What once looked like a fresh start at Liverpool has quickly become a stretch of missed chances, awkward moments and unanswered questions. And as Sweden continue to struggle and Liverpool search for goals, the story of Alexander Isak feels less like a temporary dip and more like a worrying pattern.
Unless something changes soon, the striker who once promised so much may find himself defined by these months of silence rather than the talent that once made him one of Europe’s most exciting young forwards.
