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Arne Slot maintains that Alexander Isak will require time to gel with his new Liverpool teammates, as the Reds' summer acquisition continues to settle in at Anfield.
Isak came off the bench in the second half during Tuesday's 1-0 defeat to Galatasaray but may earn a starting berth against Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday, depending on Hugo Ekitike's availability after the Frenchman was forced off injured in Istanbul.
The Sweden striker has been carefully eased in following his switch from Newcastle, where he had been training in isolation throughout pre-season. Isak hasn't completed 90 for Liverpool yet, but he has made five appearances, scoring once.
While considerable attention has focused on Isak's physical condition, Slot has cautioned that the forward must develop chemistry with his colleagues and vice versa once he reaches peak fitness, meaning fans may need to wait before witnessing him at his peak.
"I said to him, the difficult thing is you will have your appearances, but if you add minutes together, it probably won't be more than two 90 minutes," Slot said in his press conference on Friday.
"That's what we inherited from his situation at Newcastle. We knew this before, so it's not an excuse.
"[The] main thing is he has to adjust to his teammates and they have to adjust to him. He had a great counter moment against Palace, but the midfield didn't see it.
"These are the things that they have to work on, but that's been harder than last season because of Alexander, Alexis [Mac Allister], Conor [Bradley], and playing Dom [Szoboszlai]."
Slot was also asked about the fitness of Ekitike, Alisson, and Federico Chiesa. Alisson picked up a hamstring injury against Galatasaray, while Chiesa didn't even travel to Turkey due to a knock.
"I would be surprised if Alisson was there for the first game after the international break," said slot, with the goalkeeper expected to be out until next month.
Yet Ekitike and Chiesa might be available for selection against Chelsea.
On the loss to Galatasaray, Slot said: "I saw a team that wanted to try everything to get a result. It was different to the Palace game. We won much more second balls and were like in the Palace game close to a result.
"Last season margins were so small, and that's the same this season again. We are trying to find a way that isn't about luck or set-pieces that adjust better than that.
"Ekitike was twice through and did everything to stay on his feet, and then one of their players goes down with what appears the worst hit ever. We need to be better so that doesn't matter to us."
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