LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool’s record Liverpool signature Alexander Isaac will gradually be integrated into the team after much interruption of the season, manager Arne Slot said Friday.
Isaac, who? I joined Liverpool On September 1, he didn’t train with Newcastle during the preseason or the first weeks of the Premier League campaign.
While on his recent international job in Sweden in World Cup qualifiers, he didn’t play at all in a 2-2 draw with Slovenia, and appeared as a 72-minute replacement for the first appearance of the season in a 2-0 defeat to Kosovo.
Isaac will be able to make his Liverpool debut in Burnley in the league on Sunday, but that could be from the bench.
“We treat Alex the same way they do,” Slot said, referring to Sweden’s management of Isaac. “Don’t expect him to be all 90 minutes of games on the pitch, and that definitely won’t happen in the coming weeks.
“He missed a proper preseason. He missed a three to four month team session, so now he needs to build him gradually. We play so many games and there’s very little training time. It’ll be a challenge. But we signed him for six years, not just two weeks.”
Slot thanks
The Liverpool manager has reserved the praise of Swedish coach John Dahl Thomason for not going straight for Isaac during an international break after a turbulent striker.
“He’s got one of the best, perhaps one of the best strikers in the world, and he has to play two very important games in his country, but he knows whether he’ll play twice for 90 minutes.
“And that’s not always easy for managers for him to care for the player’s interests, so he deserves a great compliment.”
Congo International Joan Wissa did not play in the team’s first three games as he did not play in any of the team’s first three league games due to limited training with Brentford’s senior team and wanted to transfer, and ultimately moved to Newcastle on the last day of the transfer window.
During an international break, Wissa started both games and returned to Newcastle with injuries.
There is no Guehi
Liverpool also approached signing England defender Mark Guech from Crystal Palace on the deadline. Red lacks a lot of top class cover on the center back.
“These things happen in football,” Slot said. “For me, we would have wanted to sign him (Guehi), because of course we were there for him.
“That’s a shame,” added Slot. “I think he is in a good place not only for us but for the players as well.
Liverpool is the only team with up to nine points from the opening round.
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