Arne Slot urges patience with Alexander Isak | OneFootball

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has urged supporters and pundits alike to judge Alexander Isak (26) over the coming months and years, rather than on the early weeks of his Anfield career.

Isak, signed from Newcastle on Transfer Deadline Day for a British-record fee, has endured a subdued start, scoring just once in the Carabao Cup. But Slot, speaking exclusively to Sky Sports ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Chelsea, stressed that the Swedish striker’s impact cannot be measured so soon after his arrival.

“He’s definitely getting closer and closer to where we want him to be,” Slot explained, noting that Isak arrived without the benefit of a preseason. “When he came, I said his preseason starts now. We are three or four weeks into preseason, where normally it takes six weeks to be fully fit. He’s had to do this while playing matches rather than training consistently.”

Slot pointed to specific moments of promise, including Isak’s intelligent movement against Crystal Palace that teammates failed to capitalise on. “These are connections you build only through time, through training, and through playing together,” he added.

Slot insisted the striker’s quality will become increasingly evident as familiarity grows within the squad. “The best way to judge him,” Slot concluded, “is in the upcoming months and years, not in the first few weeks.”

Liverpool will next play Chelsea away from home on Saturday.

GFN | Finn Entwistle