Liverpool head coach Arne Slot says that record-signing Alexander Isak is still far away from being match fit after he was left out of Sunday’s trip to Burnley in the Premier League, Afrosport reports.
The 25-year-old Swedish striker of Eritrean heritage completed a British record £125 million transfer from Newcastle United on deadline day which followed with the international break.
He managed to come off the bench and play 19 minutes in Sweden’s 2-0 loss to Kosovo in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers but was not part of the squad at Turf Moor on Sunday that won 1-0.
Isak did not have a pre-season after he was frozen out of the Newcastle squad due to the transfer saga which lingered all summer.
Slot, speaking after the game, stated that the former Real Sociedad man needs to be integrated into the team gradually.
“Alex is far from ready for that schedule of three games in a week, 90 minutes,” the Dutch tactician said.
“But then we could use him today for five minutes and then Wednesday again 10, and then 15, but we don’t believe that is the way to build him up.
“We believe it’s the way… Sweden did the right thing of giving him good sessions without playing him a lot because if you play the player you cannot give him good sessions.
“They did the right thing [and] we did the same, so now he will be able either Wednesday or Saturday to play 45 as a minimum, and maybe a little bit more. But if he plays 45 on Wednesday don’t expect him to play 45 or more on Saturday because his body is not prepared for that, in our opinion.”
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Liverpool will next host Spanish giants Atletico Madrid in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
