Andoni Iraola has picked the most expensive attack in the history of English football in the last week. He has also singled out a forward for praise, for setting the standards, for acting as a leader. “The energy he shows is contagious for the rest,” the Liverpool manager said. “When you see the runs upfront, giving everything, you are kind of forced to go behind and use the same intensity levels.”
Yet the player he hailed was not the £125m Alexander Isak, the £116m Florian Wirtz or the £123m Bradley Barcola. A footballer who cost Liverpool nothing, who spent last season in the Championship and whose appearances in the second division generally came off the bench lit up Anfield on Tuesday; not in the way Dominik Szoboszlai did, with a stunning strike, or Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo, with fine goals of their own in their Carabao Cup win over Tottenham.
