Arne Slot explained why Alexander Isak was left out of Liverpool’s squad for their trip to Burnley on Sunday and his plan for the Reds’ new striker going forward.
Isak finally made his £125m move to Liverpool from Newcastle on deadline day having downed tools at the start of the season to force through his transfer to Anfield.
He didn’t play in pre-season for the Magpies and was also training away from the squad, which means he will likely take longer to get up to speed for his new club.
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The 25-year-old was away with Sweden on international duty in the last couple of weeks but was an unused substitute in the 2-2 draw with Slovenia and only played 18 minutes off the bench in a 2-0 loss to Kosovo.
And while Reds fans may have hoped to see him make his debut against Burnley at Turf Moor, Slot said ahead of the game that it came too soon for Isak, before revealing when he may get his first taste of action for his new club.
“As everybody knew he didn’t have any team training at Newcastle then went to the national team (and) only played there for 15-20 minutes,” said Slot.
“We think, with a week where we play three games in seven days, this is the best lead-up for him to be available against Atletico Madrid.”
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Asked how quickly Isak can get up to speed, Slot told Sky Sports: “That’s always difficult to say, up to full speed.
“What I can say is that normally in a pre-season, after one or two weeks you play your first 45-60 minutes, you build that up gradually.
“But that you do with proper training sessions during the week and now we hardly have any proper training sessions with the team because we play, like I just said, three games in seven days.
“So, where would he be? Second or third week of pre-season, I would say, so able to hopefully play during the week 45 minutes or more, but then two days later, as you know, we play Everton again.
“It’s going to be interesting for the performance staff, for us, to get the best out of him at the start but also to keep him available for the end.”
