LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Record Liverpool signing Alexander Isak will be gradually integrated into the team after his heavily interrupted start to the season, manager Arne Slot said Friday.
Isak, who joined Liverpool for $170 million on Sept. 1, didn't train with Newcastle during preseason or in the first weeks of the Premier League campaign as the striker pushed for a move away from the northeast club.
While on international duty recently for Sweden in World Cup qualifying, he didn't play at all in the 2-2 draw against Slovenia and came on as a 72nd-minute substitute — for his first appearance of the season — in a 2-0 loss to Kosovo.
Isak could make his debut for Liverpool at Burnley in the league on Sunday, but it is likely to be from the bench.
“We will treat Alex the same as they did,” Slot said, referring to Sweden's management of Isak. "Don't expect him to be every single game, 90 minutes, on the pitch — that’s definitely not going to happen in the upcoming weeks.
“He missed a proper pre-season, he missed three-to-four months of team sessions and so now we need to build him up gradually, with us playing so many games and hardly any training time. That’s going to be a challenge. But we signed him not only for the upcoming two weeks but for six years.”
Slot grateful
The Liverpool manager reserved praise for Sweden coach Jon Dahl Tomasson for not throwing Isak straight into action during the international break after the striker's turbulent last few months.
“He gets one of the best, maybe the best striker in the world and he needs to play two very important games for his country but understands if he would play him twice, for 90 minutes, the player would probably be injured for multiple weeks,” Slot said.
“And that's not always easy for a manager that he takes care of the interests of a player, so he deserves a big compliment for that.”
Congo international Yoane Wissa went through a similar preseason to Isak, having limited training with Brentford's senior squad and then not playing in any of the team's first three league games because he wanted a transfer — one he eventually secured with a move to Newcastle on the final day of the transfer window.
During the international break, Wissa started both games and has returned to Newcastle with an injury that means he will miss Saturday's match against Wolverhampton, manager Eddie Howe said Friday.
Missing Guehi
Liverpool also came close to signing England defender Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace on the deadline day, only for a move to fall through at the last minute. It leaves the Reds quite short of top-class cover at center back.
“These things happen in football,” Slot said. "For me, we would have liked to sign him (Guehi), of course, because we were in for him.
“It's a pity,” Slot added, “not only for us but for the player, I think. But he is in a good place, playing at Palace where he won the Community Shield and the FA Cup with a very good manager, so let's see what the future brings for him and for us.”
Liverpool is the only team on a maximum nine points from the opening three rounds.
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