Arne Slot makes Alexander Isak promise to Liverpool fans after £125m man’s omission v Burnley | OneFootball

Alexander Isak won’t make his Liverpool debut in today’s clash against Burnley – but we shouldn’t have to wait too much longer for his first on-field involvement with the Reds.

The Premier League champions smashed the British transfer record 13 days ago to sign the striker from Newcastle for £125m, with the deal being done at the start of the September international break.

The 25-year-old played for just 18 minutes in Sweden’s defeat to Kosovo last Monday, his first involvement on the pitch since the end of last season as he’d gone on strike over the summer to try and push through his eventual move to Merseyside.

Slot explains Isak absence v Burnley

While Isak was never likely to start today, his appearance off the bench in Pristina may have had Liverpool fans expecting him to at least be in the matchday squad against Burnley. However, when the team news dropped 75 minutes before kick-off, he was conspicuous by his absence.

Slot explained the record signing’s omission for the Turf Moor clash when speaking to Sky Sports prior to the game, saying: “We’ve decided it is the best for him to have a proper week of training instead of every time going for five or ten minutes of playing. I can assure the fans that he will be involved on Wednesday [v Atletico Madrid] – but this game came a bit too early.”

(Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images)

Slot proceeding sensibly with Isak

As Liverpool Echo reporter Theo Squires noted when the team news was announced, Federico Chiesa wasn’t included in the matchday squad in the Reds’ first game after his arrival last summer. Like Isak, the Italian came to Anfield having not had a proper pre-season and duly lacking match fitness.

It would’ve been a risk to throw the Sweden international straight into the starting XI today after playing so little football in the past four months, especially when Hugo Ekitike has been in such fine form, although the 25-year-old’s complete omission still seemed a little surprising.

Nonetheless, Slot is right not to ask too much of our number 9 too soon, and the promise of involvement against Atletico in midweek means that we shouldn’t have to wait too much longer for our first glimpse of the new signing for the Reds.

With Chiesa and Rio Ngumoha among the substitutes, Liverpool should still have enough firepower in reserve to make a decisive impact off the bench if needed, with both of those having entered the fray to net crucial late goals last month.

It’s a pity that Isak won’t be involved today, but if it means minimising the risk of injury from having insufficient training, we’d happily wait another few days for our £125m man to get his LFC debut!