‘The likelihood is…’ – Sky reporter drops Isak selection hint ahead of Liverpool v Atletico | OneFootball

Alexander Isak wasn’t handed his Liverpool debut in the weekend win over Burnley, but could that landmark moment come against Atletico Madrid tomorrow night?

The Reds’ £125m signing is still lacking in match fitness after playing no part for Newcastle in pre-season or at the start of the campaign before his British record transfer to Anfield, and his 18-minute appearance in Sweden’s defeat to Kosovo last week was his first involvement since the end of May.

However, he did partake in training with Arne Slot’s squad today prior to their opening Champions League fixture on Wednesday, which’ll raise hopes that he could be involved against Diego Simeone’s side.

Isak ‘could be involved’ against Atletico Madrid

Sky Sports News had their cameras at the AXA Training Centre on Tuesday, and their reporter Vinny O’Connor provided an update on whether Isak is likely to play tomorrow.

He explained: “Arne Slot has told us right from the start that it’s gonna take a bit of time for [Isak] to get up to speed.

“He was put through that training session with his teammates at the weekend, but Slot has warned that if he plays 45 minutes against Atletico Madrid, not to expect him to play 45 minutes or more in the Merseyside derby, as his body is not quite prepared for that yet.

“It is very much a case of getting him up to speed at the moment, but he is training with his Liverpool teammates, and the likelihood is – or perhaps more likely than it was at the weekend, at least – that he could be involved against Atletico Madrid, at least in some capacity.”

(Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)

Liverpool don’t need to rush Isak into the starting XI

We saw with Federico Chiesa last year that, having also not had a proper pre-season before coming to the Reds, he was gently bedded in by Slot rather than being rushed into action prematurely, and the head coach seems set to take a similar approach with Isak.

The 25-year-old’s involvement in today’s session raises the possibility of him at least being included in the matchday squad against Atletico, although we expect that he’ll begin on the bench and Hugo Ekitike will again lead the line from the start.

Thankfully, the impressive form of the French striker has reduced the urgency to fast-track the Swedish marksman into the starting XI, although we imagine it won’t be much longer before our newest signing is selected from the first whistle.

Ideally Isak might get around 20-30 minutes off the bench tomorrow night and possibly 45 or more against Everton on Saturday, depending on the medical advice that Slot is given.

There’s no need to rush the ex-Newcastle forward into the team, but the sooner that he gets out on the pitch, the quicker he’ll forge effective relationships with his fellow attackers and (hopefully) integrate seamlessly into the Liverpool line-up.