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Liverpool has certainly not seen the best of Alexander Isak yet following his record-breaking move from Newcastle - although there are a number of factors that need to be taken into account.
The fact that nearly all of his teammates have been in poor form recently, contributing to a three-game losing streak before the international break, hasn’t helped. In fact, one of the very few Liverpool players who can claim to have made a great start to the season is his direct rival for the No.9 position, Hugo Ekitike.
Then of course, there’s the issue of Isak’s pre-season, or lack thereof. Having spent much of the summer trying to force through a move to Anfield, the striker trained alone before eventually getting his deadline day switch, and he didn’t play his first minutes until he went away on duty with Sweden last month.
All things considered then, it probably shouldn’t be any surprise that Isak hasn't hit the sort of form that saw him finish behind only Mohamed Salah in the Premier League’s top scorers last season.
Of course, Isak will have to take some of the blame for that. He was, after all, the one who effectively went on strike at Newcastle to try and get his move - although his old club has come in for some criticism as well.
Arne Slot certainly seems to think that the Magpies need to take some of the blame for the way in which Isak reacted during the summer, having insisted that the same situation wouldn’t have happened at Liverpool.
Asked whether Isak going on strike reflected badly on the player, Slot said last month: “No, I just look at the club. It’s not necessary at our club, because we also trade players.
“If a player wants to leave and we get the right money for him, this club has shown so many years now that we then sell.
“You can just keep on training here – Lucho [Luis Diaz] and Harvey [Elliott] get their transfers, Tyler Morton gets his transfer, all these players, I can come up with eight, nine, 10 I think in the last window, that just conduct themselves in the best possible way.”
Slot’s comments might have enraged Newcastle fans, but he’s not alone in his view.
Sweden boss Jon Dahl Tomasson has been on the same wavelength as the Liverpool head coach recently, with Slot even complimenting him for the way in which he handled Isak during last month’s international break, and the former Newcastle striker seemed to take a subtle dig at his old club as he spoke ahead of his country’s latest round of games.
"We can't change the situation (with Isak)," Tomasson said.
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"I'm just happy that Liverpool are doing the same thing I would have done. You can see what Newcastle did with Yoane Wissa, who came in instead of Isak.
"He played international matches with Congo straight away and is now injured. He is still injured.
"That's also a reason why we couldn't play him so much last month. We need a good Isak this month and next month. That's how we plan, while Liverpool have done really well."
Although Isak hasn’t quite found his feet yet, both Slot and Tomasson have been in agreement that he just needs time before he returns to his best form - something both seemingly wish he was given back at Newcastle.
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