Virgil van Dijk raves about 'quality' Alexander Isak as as Liverpool attacker's place comes under threat

Virgil van Dijk has showered heaps of praise on Liverpool's record signing, Alexander Isak, saying he is a "quality" centre-forward.

The Reds spent over £450m on new players this summer, with Arne Slot specifically focusing on bolstering the forward department.

Isak joined the Premier League champions from Newcastle United on deadline day after a long and arduous saga for a fee of £125m, but he has yet to feature for his new club.

Along with the Swedish striker, Liverpool signed Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Giovanni Leoni, Armin Pesci and Freddie Woodman, which makes them one of the firm favourites for the Premier League title once again.

What Van Dijk has said about Isak

Liverpool offloaded Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott while Diogo Jota tragically died in a car accident, and replacements were needed in the attacking areas.

The Reds have won four games in the Premier League in a row without the help of their record-signing striker. Van Dijk, however, has suggested that Isak is not a luxury signing for the club, and definitely not a mere addition to an already stacked squad.

The Swedish international is fighting to get to full fitness after barely getting pre-season training with Newcastle, and Slot has made it clear that the striker will be used appropriately.

“It's not really an addition – it's a replacement,” Van Dijk said, as quoted by The Mirror. “Players with a lot of quality left us and we had to replace them as they were important for us and we had successes.

“We have no control over the price tag. There will always be talks about that and that creates pressure, but it's down to him and us that we don't speak about it. Hopefully he will score a lot of goals, work hard and enjoy being the number nine for Liverpool and be important for the group with goals, assists and link-up play.

“He is a clinical finisher, heading, left, right, top corners, he is the complete striker at the moment. You can say the same for Hugo. They are a little bit different but not as much, they both have so much quality and are very comfortable on the ball and can link up players and have pace.

“That's what is being asked of the modern day striker. Both are a handful. Good they are on my side. Hopefully they can show that to the opponent.”

Is Ekitike's position under threat already?

Isak scored 27 goals for the Magpies last season, and he will definitely start as a number nine at Liverpool.

It will be interesting to see how Slot utilises Ekitike and Isak simultaneously, as the Frenchman is too talented a player to be relegated to the bench.

Depending on the team and the game situation, the two strikers can complement each other in a 4-4-2 system; however, in most cases, Ekitike can start on the left wing, where he is equally comfortable.

Slot will have plenty of options to choose from while selecting his team, and it is a problem the Dutch boss would happily take in his stride.