Liverpool continue to leave it late in the Premier League after Mohamed Salah scored from the penalty spot to give the Reds a 1-0 win at Turf Moor deep into injury time. 

Arne Slot’s side retained their 100% start to the campaign and the theme of last-minute activity has been a constant in recent weeks following the deadline day arrival of Alexander Isak, who coincidentally wasn’t risked for the trip to Lancashire, having missed the entirety of pre-season. 

The Swedish frontman is expected to play some part as the Champions League begins at Anfield with the visit of Atletico Madrid, but before that, we thought we’d take a closer look at the British record transfer signing.

Liverpool Supporters Go Wild After Mo Salah’s Injury Time Winner Against Burnley!

Dan spoke to former AIK academy coach Nahom Ghidey to find out more about Liverpool’s latest number nine and where the journey all began…

“The whole world is excited, especially in Sweden, to see him in Liverpool. Of course, he will need time. I was a coach when Alex was very young. I had the pleasure of working with him from 9, when I started at AIK after growing up in Germany. I was originally from Eritrea, where Alex was also from. There were too many kids and only three coaches, so I decided to help out; it was destiny that I became a coach. They gave me the responsibility to look after the 9/10 age group, over 100 kids, including Alexander Isak – of course, you could see he was very talented, many used to say he wasn’t strong, but I could see he was great. His ball control, game understanding, and everything was there from a young age.

“Alexander was a tiny, small boy, nobody could understand. I used to say some people can see potential, and some can see strong players. I loved to see players who were born to be great. First of all, it’s not me who made Alex great; AIK is a great academy, and maybe 10 or 15 people worked to make Alexander Isak.

“I couldn’t speak English at that time, but with him and his parents, I could speak Eritrean. His father was a teacher, and he was very intelligent, so for me it was easier speaking with his father and Alex. He was close to me. Eritrea is a small country, maybe 3.5million population, so we are very close, we love each other.

“We have loved to watch the journey of Alexander Isak. It is unbelievable what he’s done already in his career. When Isak was young, I never thought he would achieve what he has; it was just for the joy, all about development. We never discussed the future; reaching the AIK first team was the biggest thing for him then. When he started training with the first team, he sent me a message about how delighted he was and how it had gone for him. I was his mentor because I was close to him and his family. I told all the first team to take care of him, and after the session, I got messages back saying, ‘he can take care of himself, he’s good!’ Everyone loved him; he could handle the intensity of the first team.

“I would cry if I got to watch him play for Liverpool. I’m so happy for Alex, a very intelligent boy, a very smart guy, he’s a listener, not a talker. He comes from a beautiful family and I wish him all the best.”