Alexander Isak will prove Wayne Rooney wrong as massive Liverpool boost edges closer

Liverpool boss Arne Slot says Alexander Isak could return around the March international break, with the Swedish striker yet to get going since his record-breaking transfer

Liverpool striker Alexander Isak.(Image: Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)

If Alexander Isak had his time again, would he change tact last summer when he forced through a move to Liverpool? Going on strike has cost him match fitness, but it might have got the transfer over the line.

Yet to get going at Anfield, though, since his $169 million (£125 million) move, Isak is expected back around the March international break. Arne Slot was reluctant to put too much pressure on the situation, but the striker has been stepping up his rehab.

Last week, he was pictured in the gym. While he is not back on the grass yet, or even close to team training, it might only be a month or six weeks before he returns.

When he does, as evidenced by his slow start, Isak will need to get back up to full speed. Missing the entirety of pre-season proved costly and he will still be playing catch-up.

Once he is fit again, however, the level of player that Liverpool has brought in will become clear. Indeed, it was the exact kind of thing that the Reds signed him for that saw him get injured in the act of scoring against Tottenham.

A return for Isak can only be a hugely positive thing for Liverpool heading into the last few weeks of the season. By that point, there should still be plenty to play for.

Alexander Isak is working his way back to fitness with Liverpool(Image: Paul Currie/Shutterstock)

Jamie Carragher said in the summer that Liverpool shouldn't have signed both Isak and Hugo Ekitike, with the latter, who has scored 15 goals so far, taken from Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee that could reach $106 million (£79 million).

But as is the case with any position, Liverpool needs multiple options. The reason that Luis Diaz has been missed this season is that no one came in to replace him and push Cody Gakpo to new levels.

After Ekitike scored twice against Isak's former club, Newcastle, last month, Wayne Rooney suggested that the Swede would be concerned watching on, wondering how he might get back in the team.

Liverpool striker Alexander Isak.(Image: Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images)

"I'd be more worried if I was Isak, sitting there watching," Rooney said on his BBC podcast. "His Liverpool career just hasn't got up and going yet.

"Obviously, they paid a lot of money for him and these two (Ekitike and Florian Wirtz) seem to have a really good understanding of each other's game — they look like a real threat."

With Isak available again, though, Ekitike, if anything, could reach new heights. He will be better rested, for one thing, rather than being overplayed, and will have the feeling of another elite player challenging him for minutes.

"I think they're talking about a 4-4-2 diamond, which probably looks a little bit different when they're defending," Emile Heskey told Liverpool.com last week. "I think that should suit both Ekitike and Isak.

"Ekitike is a nine but he is very versatile. He could play a number 10 role if needs be and he runs all over the place, so he could probably chase into the channel and disturb the back four."

However Liverpool fits Isak in, his return will only be a good thing. For Slot, it could even prove decisive in the run-in, whatever the Reds still have left to play for when he is back up to speed.