1 hour ago
26
Arne Slot did not sign Alexander Isak only for the short-term, but his $169 million (£125 million) transfer deadline day addition from Newcastle is yet to get going.
In a period of transition for Liverpool, its new number nine has been slowly brought up to speed. He then picked up an injury setback just when Slot said he was at a fitness level where he could be fairly judged, and now there is an international break.
To say that his time at Anfield so far has been anything other than an up-and-down experience would be wrong, though there is no need to panic. He is very much already Premier League proven, and it would be a major surprise if things didn't eventually work out.
In the coming weeks, though, as Liverpool faces a slightly less daunting fixture list that kicks off with the visit of Nottingham Forest, there is a selection dilemma for Slot to solve.
In the here and now, with Liverpool currently eighth, it needs points. For that, Hugo Ekitike appears to be the best option, with Florian Wirtz and Mohamed Salah also having recently shown some signs of life.
Fitting in Isak as well is, as much as it is a luxury problem, a bit of a headache. Playing both him and Ekitike together is possible, but that would require some reshaping of the system, and for someone else to miss out.
"Isak came in and had to do pre-season inside the season," Slot said ahead of the trip to Manchester City.
"You could say 'Why do you play him?', but then he wouldn't be fit until the end of the season.
"We knew this before when we signed him that it was going to take three to six months until he's up to his usual level. But if I never play him, I can't bring him to that level."
That is the tricky balance that Slot faces. He needs a fully fit and firing Isak as soon as possible; he also needs to pick the best team for the here and now, which probably doesn't contain the Swede on current form.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
"Don’t expect him every single game 90 minutes on the pitch — that’s definitely not going to happen in the upcoming weeks," Slot said in September.
"We’ve signed him not only for the upcoming two weeks; we’ve signed him for six years. This is what we have to keep in mind."
That remains true, of course, but Liverpool will have to find a way of moving things forward. For now, Ekitike is the number one; in the future, he and Isak might share the role or play together.
Slot and Liverpool will have had a plan when the pair were brought in for big money. In the next month or so, we might be able to see it enacted for the first time.
English (US) ·