Isak handed Liverpool demand that Slot insists WILL make him world best striker

The Premier League champions face Burnley on Sunday looking to keep up their 100 per cent start to the season, with their £125million new boy in the squad for the first time since leaving Newcastle for Anfield

Arne Slot believes Alexander Isak will only become THE best striker in the world when he wins the biggest trophies.

The Reds boss reckons they have landed one of the best on the planet in the £125m record signing from Newcastle. But Slot insists his new No.9 must get his hands on top honours like the Premier League and Champions League before he can be put on top of the world. When asked if he is the best striker in the world, Slot said: “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, 25, is likely to be on the bench for Sunday's clash against Burnley at Turf Moor as the Reds look to maintain their 100 per cent start to the season and stay top of the Premier League.

The Sweden striker has obviously proven himself with 54 Premier League goals in three seasons at Newcastle while he also helped the Magpies to the Carabao Cup last season, beating the Reds in the final. But now he has the pressure of playing for Liverpool and the British record transfer fee.

Slot added: “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.”