Alexander Isak will have to ‘build up gradually’ with Liverpool – Arne Slot | OneFootball

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has tempered expectations surrounding Alexander Isak by suggesting the British-record signing is unlikely hit the ground running after a disrupted pre-season.

The Sweden international completed a £125million deadline-day move but his dispute with Newcastle over his entitlement to a move meant a late substitute appearance against Kosovo represented his first minutes of football since May.

Slot, who said Isak was “maybe the best striker in the world”, asked for fans to be patient with him if the 25-year-old was taken off or not brought on until late on as he tries to get him up to speed.

“Don’t expect him to be every single game 90 minutes on the pitch. That’s definitely not going to happen for the next few weeks. He missed a proper pre-season,” said the Dutchman.

“I think he missed three or four months of team sessions, so now we have to build him up gradually with us playing so many games and hardly any training time.

“That is going to be a challenge, but we have not just signed him for the upcoming two weeks, we have signed him for six years so this is what we have to keep in mind and what the fans have to keep in mind if I take him off in a certain moment or I only bring him in for a few moments. That is all for the fitness of the player.”

Isak only trained with the full squad on Friday so is likely to be on the bench for Sunday’s trip to Burnley.

The Swede has been widely criticised for his behaviour at Newcastle, failing to join up for their pre-season tour to Asia and training on his own at former club Real Sociedad before being isolated from the squad and posting on Instagram: “When promises are broken and trust is lost, the relationship can’t continue…”

After Monday’s international game he told reporters: “Not everyone has the whole picture, but that’s something for another day… I can’t control everything that is said or written but I’m glad I became a Liverpool player.”

Slot said: “I spoke to him by phone after he signed because he had to go to the national team and 99 out of 100 times I leave them for the manager they are working with over there.

“I texted him once or twice because he is new to us and I wanted to know how he did but I do have to get to know him better as a person in the next weeks.

“Although we find it very important how someone is, because we have such a great culture at this club, we mainly sign a player for his qualities.

“Therefore I don’t need to call him. I faced him a few times and know what a quality player he is.”

Slot has also been impressed with the attitude of Federico Chiesa, who as a result of Isak’s arrival was left out of their Champions League squad.

“Of course he wasn’t happy with that but I think he understood my arguments,” said the Reds boss.

“That is not to say he agreed with them – he didn’t tell me he didn’t, by the way. He gave the answer you want to hear from a player, that he will be there to help the team in the cups and the league.

“I think he also showed it as he wasn’t selected but worked really hard in these days to be ready for the upcoming games and that is even more important than what a player tells you.”