One man's hero is another man's rat: Two curses Isak will have to break

After a months-long saga, Alexander Isak finally got his way and yesterday, on the June Transfer Window Deadline Day, he joined Liverpool in a record deal worth £125 million.

For the Reds' fans, he is the hero who showed persistence and admiration towards the Anfield club, refusing to stand back until his wish to join Arne Slot's crew was fulfilled.

Conversely, for the Magpies' fans, he is a rat who betrayed Newcastle, and it's needless to say what a curse the Swede may have brought on himself when he enraged people to whom he was like a son or a brother.

Outside St. James' Park ahead of the Newcastle-Liverpool clash... (©Reuters/Lee Smith/Gallo Images)

Nevertheless, that's not the only curse he'll have to deal with. After all, he is neither the first nor the last player who forced a transfer. Riyad Mahrez did it at Leicester City, Dimitar Berbatov did it at Tottenham, and both the Algerian and the Bulgarian were outstanding at Man City and Man United, respectively.

But Liverpool's #9 curse - that may be the real danger...

With all due credit to Roberto Firmino, who was probably the most crucial cog in Jurgen Klopp's offensive machinery alongside Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, the Reds didn't have a genuine net-buster since Fernando Torres.

Yes, the popular Bobby scored 111 goals in 362 games, but El Nino's unbelievable percentage (81 goals in only 142 appearances - 57%) is the real accomplishment that Isak will try to surpass.

Moreover, in this century - excluding Torres, Firmino, and the legendary Robbie Fowler - the Reds were quite ill-fortunate when it comes to #9s.

Since Fowler left in 2001 and before the Spaniard arrived in 2007, Nicolas Anelka, El-Hadji Diouf, and Djibril Cisse combined for only 35 goals, as Liverpool's "nines."

Following Torres' departure, the Anfield side's curse continued, as Andy Carroll, Rickie Lambert, and Christian Benteke scored 24 goals together.

Firmino's spell at Liverpool was another "exception that proves the rule," as his #9 successor, Darwin Nunez, was one of the biggest flops in the club's recent history.

It's all over! Reds sign Isak, Newcastle have only 37 words for him

Now, it's time for Isak to show what he's made of. He'll have a lot on his plate: high expectations, constant reminders of how much he was paid, Newcastle fans and their insults...

But he wanted to be Liverpool's #9 and his dream has become a reality and now he'll have to cope with it, no matter how hard it may be.

After all, the saying "Be careful what you wish for" exists for a reason.