Danny Murphy picks out ‘best striker in the world’ as Alexander Isak is reminded who’s boss
Danny Murphy has pinned down the best forward on the planet right now and has snubbed Liverpool’s Alexander Isak in the process.
Reds fans were let down on the weekend (14 September) as Newcastle United fans rejoiced in Isak’s omission from the Liverpool squad against Burnley.
Arne Slot hinted that Isak could debut for Liverpool against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League as the Swede builds up his match fitness after no pre-season.
Moreover, sources have told Football Insider on 16 September that Liverpool will rotate Andy Robertson and Milos Kerkez following the Hungarian’s tough start to the campaign which will add further headaches to the Dutchman’s team selections.
Yet, despite all the attention on the most expensive player in British transfer history, former Fulham midfielder Murphy has prompted football followers to not forget about the excellence of Erling Haaland.
Erling Haaland deemed ‘unplayable’ by Danny Murphy after Manchester derby brilliance
The Norwegian was on-fire in Man City’s rampant 3-0 victory over Man United with the ex-Borussia Dortmund striker coming away with just a brace when he could have had so much more.
Discussing the sheer class of City’s number nine on talkSPORT (16 September), the former Liverpool player waxed lyrical about the Scandinavian and strongly believed that he is the best forward on the planet.
Murphy said: “I mean, he looks physically brilliant. Most of us watch the game and he’s been the best striker in the world for a good few years now because the job as a striker is to score goals and his goalscoring is ridiculous.
“The icing on the cake is when you get the other bits, which we saw yesterday [14 September], which is some link-up, some hold-up, defensive headers in the box, all the things.
“And when he’s like that and he’s on top of his physique, the fitness side of his game, he just looks unstoppable and unplayable.”
Alexander Isak has much work to do to get on Erling Haaland’s level
The Norway international has started in scintillating form at the start of the 2025-26 campaign by already notching five goals in four matches.
His Scandinavian counterpart has hardly kicked a ball and will need to quickly hit the ground running if he stands any chance of challenging for the Golden Boot.
Haaland will be eager to improve on what was a minor dip in his usual high standards last season and I can’t envision Isak catching up with him.
| Premier League 2024-25 | Erling Haaland | Alexander Isak |
| Appearances | 31 | 34 |
| Minutes played | 2,741 | 3,319 |
| Goals | 22 | 23 |
| Assists | 3 | 6 |
The 25-year-old has to compete with the confident Hugo Ekitike who has already shown quality in quickly adapting to the Premier League.
Regardless, it will be a blessing to watch two of the world’s best goalscorers going head-to-head in two of the best attacks in England.
My money will be on Haaland to claim the Golden Boot once again but you can never rule out the selfish and clinical nature of Isak.