Alexander Isak was met with a chorus of boos and expletive abuse as he arrived in Newcastle, 12 months on from his controversial transfer to Liverpool. In what was the most gripping narrative of last year's summer window, the Swedish striker secured a £125million deadline day move to Anfield.
Transfer saga and fan backlash
While Eddie Howe thought that Isak would remain at St. James' Park for 2025/26, Isak rocked Tyneside by explaining that he wanted to explore his options elsewhere. What ensued was more than a month of drama, which saw the 26-year-old skip Newcastle United's pre-season tour and instead train with his former club Real Sociedad.
Upon his return to Darsley Park, he was omitted from first-team work as he pushed for a move to Merseyside. That ultimately came on September 1, with Liverpool announcing a British record transfer of the centre-forward.
As a result, the faithful Toon Army fans who had idolised Isak for the best part of three years quickly turned against him; social media ablaze with insults, while others went as far as presenting a banner outside of Newcastle's stadium reading 'Isak is a pure rat.'
Return to Tyneside
On Saturday, Isak made his grand return to the North East ahead of Sunday's clash between Liverpool and Newcastle, greeted as expected by furious fans waiting outside the Reds' team hotel.
Footage shared online shows Isak coolly strolling through the doors of the hotel, blocking out a swarm of jeers and foul language with his earphones in. Newcastle fans could be heard yelling the likes of "F*** off," and "W*****" in the clip, as their former talisman walked on, stone-faced and seemingly undeterred by the outside noise.
A similar reception is expected for the goalscorer when he finally re-emerges at St. James' on Sunday afternoon, with the two teams set to meet in a fiery Premier League opener at 4.30pm BST. Isak will be determined to silence the majority of the 52,719 fans inside the ground over the course of 90 minutes, expected to lead the line of Andoni Iraola as a result of Hugo Ekitike remaining sidelined from an Achilles tendon rupture earlier this year.
Injury-hit first season at Anfield
It comes as the centre-forward endured a topsy-turvy first season on Merseyside, as a result of battling his own injuries. Given he missed pre-season as a result of his transfer saga, Isak wasn't afforded the opportunity to hit the ground running with the Reds, as at the time manager, Arne Slot, carefully managed his fitness.
Isak's campaign was then disrupted further in late December, when he sustained a fractured leg in a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur. As a result of the injury, Isak missed a total of 106 days, with adductor pain and muscular injury forcing him out of another two matches toward the end of the season.
Isak managed just three goals from 14 appearances overall, but will be hoping for a more fluid campaign in 2026/27, starting with a bitter return to Newcastle.
