Liverpool boss Arne Slot has explained why Alexander Isak has been left out of the Reds squad for their Premier League clash with Burnley. The Sweden international joined Liverpool from Newcastle on transfer deadline day but is yet to make his debut for the Merseyside giants.
Isak pulled out of Newcastle’s pre-season tour of Asia earlier this summer with a “minor thigh injury” and then trained alone at former club Real Sociedad. He later told Newcastle chiefs he had no intention of reintegrating with the rest of the squad as he attempted to force through a move to Anfield. His stance means he is short of match fitness, with Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson handing the striker just 18 minutes of game time during the recent international break as his country took on Slovenia and Kosovo in back-to-back matches over a period of four days.
Liverpool returned to Premier League duty on Sunday as they travelled to Turf Moor to take on Burnley.
But Slot decided to omit Isak from his matchday squad as Hugo Ekitike led the line, with support from Mohamed Salah, Florian Wirtz and Cody Gakpo.
And discussing Isak’s absence, the Liverpool boss told Sky Sports ahead of kick-off: “As everybody knew, he didn’t have any team training at Newcastle. Then he went to the national team and only played there for 15 or 20 minutes. And we think with a week where we play three games in seven days, this is the best lead-up for him to be available against Atletico Madrid.
“It’s always difficult to say [when he will be] up to full speed. You build that up gradually with proper training sessions during the week. Now we hardly have any proper training sessions with the team because we play three games in seven days.
“Where would he be, second or third week of pre-season I would say. So able to hopefully play during the week for 45 minutes or more.
“But two days later we play Everton again, so it’s going to be interesting for us to get the best out of him from the start, but also keep him available until the end.”
Liverpool have enjoyed a sensational start to the new season after winning the Premier League title by 10 points during Slot’s maiden campaign at the helm.
The Reds got the 2025/26 season up and running with a 4-2 victory over Bournemouth last month before backing that result up with a 3-2 win at Newcastle.
And just before the international break, Slot led his side to a 1-0 victory against Arsenal as the Reds secured maximum points from their opening three matches.
Isak will now be eyeing his Liverpool debut when the Champions League league phase gets underway in midweek. The Reds host Atletico Madrid on Wednesday evening, with Everton visiting Anfield for the Merseyside derby three days later.