Andoni Iraola's Challenge with Alexander Isak at Liverpool

Andoni Iraola is under no illusions about Alexander Isak. The Liverpool head coach knows the Swede will score. His challenge is turning the club’s only fit centre-forward into a complete reference point for the entire attack.

With Hugo Ekitike still sidelined after Achilles surgery and Mohamed Salah gone, Isak’s role could hardly be more stark. He is the No. 9, the focal point, the one they simply cannot afford to lose.

Last season showed why. His debut campaign at Anfield never really caught fire, broken up by injuries that limited him to 12 starts in 22 appearances and just four goals. Only one of those came after he fractured his leg at Tottenham just before Christmas. The stop-start rhythm hurt him and hurt Liverpool.

Now, Iraola sees a different picture.

“Alex is going to be a very important player for us this season,” he said. “Right now he is in a very good place; he has been training every day, he has not missed a session, he has been adding more and more minutes every friendly game.

“He played a very good World Cup in terms of availability, fitness level, and I want to keep him there as much as we can.

“We know his level and if we can keep him there he will score the goals and give us a lot of things.”

The goals are almost taken for granted. Iraola’s demands stretch beyond the penalty area.

“Probably my fight with him, my instructions, are more in terms of without the ball and how he can help in his position when we are with the ball so he can open spaces for other players.

“I am not trying to focus in terms of goals but he is a striker, he will want to score, but I try not to judge the strikers if they score or if they haven’t.”

That means Isak’s partnership with Florian Wirtz becomes crucial. Restored to his natural No. 10 role after being shuffled around under former boss Arne Slot, Wirtz is expected to operate just behind the Swede. If that connection clicks, Liverpool’s new-look front line suddenly looks far less fragile.

All of this builds into a fascinating backdrop for Sunday’s Premier League opener: away at Newcastle, the club Isak left in acrimonious fashion. He effectively went on strike last summer to force through his move to Anfield. St James’ Park will not be welcoming.

Iraola is not interested in turning it into a personal grudge match.

“I suppose it is always special when you play against your ex-team in their stadium — in the same way when I go back to Bournemouth you always want to do well,” he said.

“The first game of the season everyone will be very motivated and I think it is going to be the same for Alex.”

Behind the scenes, the picture is more complicated. Ekitike is unlikely to return before the new year, leaving Iraola painfully light through the middle while the club chases reinforcements out wide. Liverpool have already seen a second £60 million bid for Brighton winger Yankubu Minteh rejected, underlining where the recruitment focus lies.

That leaves the staff searching for a Plan B at centre-forward.

Cody Gakpo is the obvious candidate, even if links to a surprise move to Tottenham have surfaced despite Liverpool’s thin resources up front. Under Jurgen Klopp, the Dutchman often operated centrally. Under Iraola, he has been needed elsewhere.

“In pre-season we haven’t tried as we don’t have enough wingers and we prioritised what we need from him in his preferred position as a left-winger,” Iraola explained.

“But I have been talking to him about his minutes as a nine; he has done it before and in certain situations he could help us in the nine position.”

For now, though, everything circles back to Isak: his fitness, his movement, his understanding with Wirtz, his response to the boos that will rain down at Newcastle. Liverpool’s season may not be defined in one afternoon, but their only senior striker walks into it knowing just how much rests on his shoulders.