With only a goal and an assist to his name, Alexander Isak is yet to justify his transfer fee of £125m. The Swedish striker joined from Newcastle United on transfer deadline day in the summer, breaking the British transfer record.
The saga was a peculiar one as the Swede wasn’t able to leave St. James Park due to the Magpies’ stubbornness. The Tyneside outfit wasn’t keen on selling the player with no replacements in sight.
Eddie Howe identified Hugo Ektike as the successor, but the Reds snatched up the Frenchman, as Arne Slot, though Isak was off the table this summer.
However, Isak’s stubbornness led to the player not participating in team trainings or games. This led to the club not having any other option than to sell the striker instead of wasting operating costs that wouldn’t garner returns.
Quiz: Can you name the team Liverpool sold these players to?
Alexander Isak Liverpool fitness concern
Alexander Isak is yet to return to full fitness following his move to Anfield (Credits: Imago Images)
As the player took a big break from competitive football, it was pretty clear that he wouldn’t hit the ground running at Anfield. Following the issue, he’s only played 312 minutes for the club.
The Reds have played 11 matches across all competitions so far, but Isak, on the other hand, hasn’t been able to even play four full matches in terms of game time.
Slot did warn of this when the Dutchman signed the striker, but fans didn’t expect such a long delay. Talking on his vlog now, Daily Mail reporter Lewis Steele revealed some insider info regarding Isak.
“The road to full fitness is a little bit longer than expected, and there’s a report from one of the Newcastle guys, saying they expect it to be three months until he’s fully fit. And that is probably about right.”
“He’s been at Liverpool now for four or five weeks, so maybe we are now probably another three or four weeks away from seeing Isak at his best.”
“There have been glimpses, lovely assist on Saturday, and he got his goal against Southampton, to be fair, he’s got to score that, but he had to be in the right place at the right time.”
“But, the road to full fitness does seem a bit bumpier than me or Slot predicted. But, as I said with Salah, if he gets a bit of confidence, it should be all good.”
The road to recovery just seems to be extending further and further. Ekitike has proven to be a great striker, but with Isak’s return, Slot will have big decisions to make.
