Owen warns Isak is 'running out of excuses' after flat return to Newcastle

Alexander Isak endured another frustrating afternoon on his return to St James’ Park as Liverpool drew with Newcastle, with former England striker Michael Owen declaring the £125 million forward is “starting to run out of excuses” for his lack of impact at Anfield.

Isak, who scored 62 goals across three seasons for Newcastle before Liverpool paid a then-record fee for him, was regularly booed by the home crowd and had his best opportunity in the second half, blazing over from the edge of the area. Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai were the scorers for Liverpool.

Owen, speaking on talkSPORT, acknowledged that Isak’s injury-hit debut season — which restricted him to just four goals — warranted patience, but argued that time has now expired. “I had plenty of injuries in my career so I know how hard it is to get back and you do need a bit of time,” Owen said. “We’ve given him time, everyone has given him time and understood that. But he’s finished the season, then he’s gone to the World Cup and now he’s had a pre-season and you just think OK, now we’re starting to run out of excuses.”

Owen was emphatic about how much Liverpool need Isak to deliver, particularly given the absences around him. “Liverpool absolutely need him — they’ve lost Salah, Ekitike is out, there’s not that many options in attacking areas. They absolutely need him in top form and yesterday he was far from it. I thought he was a yard off and that’s worrying.”

The pressure on Isak is compounded by the performance of Hugo Ekitike, who cost roughly half the Swede’s transfer fee and scored 17 goals in his debut season. Liverpool will be hoping the familiar surroundings of Anfield and a full pre-season under his belt are enough to finally unlock the form that made him one of Europe’s most coveted strikers.