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liverpool waited for alexander isaacA saga throughout the summer that was becoming exhausting long before it finally ended. But they have been waiting since then. He holds the record for signing the number 9 shirt, seeing him on the pitch for 311 minutes, spread over six appearances. But not the real Isaac.
He’s been semi-fit, substituted and substituted, but he’s not the weak, scrappy and lethal force that prompted Liverpool to pay some £125 million for him. Now, Arne Slott believes, They could see the player who broke the transfer record And, in his newcastle Day, often acting as an elegant destroyer of defence.
Slott said, “I think he’s now had five, six weeks of pre-season which is normal for every player – especially if you’ve been out for three or four months;” The unspoken element is that Isak was sidelined not because of injury but by choice, going on strike to force Newcastle’s departure, depriving himself of any sharpness in the process. “Fitness-wise he is close to where he should be and we can assess him objectively from now on.”
If the verdicts so far have not been entirely favorable, Slott thinks more frank assessments may be in order; It begins with Manchester United’s visit to Anfield on Sunday. “I used the word ‘judge’ but I don’t mean a judge,” he said. “The outside world can say from now that we have the player we signed, it’s better so the first five or six weeks. Obviously we had the player we signed but he was not fully ready yet. He was just getting fitter and fitter but he had to Premier League game. This is not normal for a player.”
Which, once again, reflects some of the choices Isaac made during the tug of war. In theory, Liverpool won it. Newcastle were feeling defeated at the time, but Nick Voltemed, who replaced Isaac in the last minute, had already scored four goals. The Swede’s only strike for Liverpool came in the Carabao Cup against a Southampton team that finished 19th in the Championship.
Isak also has an assist for Kodi Gakpo at Chelsea, which was either brilliant or lucky depending on interpretation. They have suffered three consecutive defeats, the worst of Slott’s reign. While Liverpool’s other attractive signing Hugo Ekitike has made a stellar debut, Isak’s impact has been negligible.
Some 216 players have had shots on target in the Premier League this season. They do not include the £125m forward. He has at least featured as a goalkeeper in the Champions League, but without making a decisive impact. Sweden also faced Isak standoff in summerTheir hopes of reaching the World Cup were put in jeopardy after being held goalless in consecutive defeats to Switzerland and Kosovo. Perhaps, if he had become faster earlier, things would have been different.
There are other slot concerns, but Liverpool’s campaign is over two months old and their major shopping spree is ready to begin in earnest. “His pre-season is probably over now,” said the Dutchman. “Ideally you would use him in a friendly first, so we have to prepare him to play a Premier League match and I think to make a difference at this level you have to be at the top of your game. You can play at this level if you are maybe 80 or 90 or 95 per cent, but if you want to make a difference at the highest level of football you have to be 100 per cent. That goes for every player and I think I can safely say that he now 100 percent Is.”
And so, finally, he could see what he paid so much for. Topping the slots wish list is the most obvious element of all. “The goal,” he said. “That’s the simplest thing.” Isak ranked among the top three scorers in the Premier League last season, averaging one goal every 119 minutes. In three seasons at Newcastle, he scored on almost every second shot on target. “If you’re a No. 9 at Liverpool you need to score goals, but that’s what he’s always done in his life,” Slott said. “The only thing that is important for him is to be fit.” And fit enough to close down defenders. “To be the leader in creating pressure from our front three, we can improve there too, that’s something he needs to do but Hugo is the same way,” his manager said.
Ekitike adds to the intrigue of the Isaac equation. Many managers have two specialist strikers; Very few people have two machines with this capability and cost. Because Isak is unwilling to complete the game due to Akitike’s ban, the slot has alternated between them until now. When the Swede came up against Galatasaray, the Frenchman moved to the left. “Yeah, for two minutes,” Slott smiled.
It does not clarify how the two will be accommodated; Will it always be one on the pitch and the other on the bench? “Maybe,” Slott said. “It’s the same at every other club, but we can play with both of them.” The question of when and how to do that arises because it would seem inevitable if Isak is to return to anything resembling his best for the first time since the spring.
So far, that has proven costly but largely ineffective. “I’ve said many times that we have a six-year contract with them,” Slott said. Isaac did not make much progress in his first six weeks. More results have to be delivered in the next six years.