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Alexander Isak's summer standoff with Newcastle United is still affecting Liverpool as the Sweden international struggles to regain full fitness, BBC Sport's Chris Sutton claims.
Isak's transfer from Newcastle to Liverpool became one of the summer's most talked-about moves. The 26-year-old declined to feature for the Magpies, claiming Eddie Howe's team had made "broken promises" in a social media statement.
Having skipped pre-season preparation and the campaign's initial fixtures, Liverpool eventually sealed a $169 million deal for a player who lacked the fitness to complete 90 minutes at the season's start.
Following eight outings for the Reds, Isak was omitted from Liverpool's squad for their clash with Brentford — losing 3-2, with the defending champions suffering their fourth straight Premier League loss — due to a groin problem.
Sutton reckons this stems from the striker's choice to down tools during his final period at Newcastle.
He wrote: "It feels like what has happened to him is a case of you reap what you sow.
"Isak has been short of full fitness and especially sharpness all season anyway, and he did not help himself there by missing training with Newcastle in order to try to force his move to Anfield through.
"He got what he wanted, but now he is trying to play catch-up instead of hitting the ground running because of the time he had off, and that is when you can pick up injuries.
"Isak is too good a player not to eventually start scoring goals but this whole situation has affected Liverpool as a team too, because his lack of fitness is one of the reasons they have not clicked in the final third yet."
Whilst Isak has been settling in at Liverpool, Hugo Ekitike has netted six goals and provided one assist in his first 13 outings for the Reds following his $107 million switch from Frankfurt.
The two leading strikers were poised for an epic contest for the starting forward position, with both eager to establish themselves as Slot's preferred option. At present, Ekitike seems to be prevailing in that contest, despite Liverpool spending $62M more on Isak.
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