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Alexander Isak is suffering the consequences of his unprofessional conduct during the summer following a sluggish beginning at Liverpool after his British record transfer from Newcastle.
That's the opinion of former Reds midfielder Don Hutchison, who believes Isak ought to have 'recognized the broader implications' before abandoning his duties at Newcastle. Isak essentially went on strike whilst pursuing his switch to Liverpool during the summer and, consequently, missed several weeks of crucial pre-season preparation.
Subsequently, he has been attempting to catch up physically at Anfield and remains without a Premier League goal, leaving Hutchison baffled. "Alexander Isak should have been more professional over the summer, and he's paying for it now," Hutchison told Online Casinos.
"He should have seen the bigger picture. Walking away from the training camp was poor in the first place, and then when he came back to Newcastle, he should have thought two things.
"One, he was either going to go to Liverpool or stay at Newcastle. So either way, he needed to be match fit. He shouldn't have been selfish and trained with Newcastle even if he knew he would force himself out.
"If the move didn't happen, he'd then be match fit for Newcastle. It was unprofessional and naïve not just to down tools, but to sacrifice his match fitness for whoever he was going to play for.
"I think he's been managed and advised really badly by his agent all summer. It comes down to the player, ultimately. He's under contract with Newcastle, he owes them fitness and professionalism.
"Bigger picture, if you end up at Liverpool you have to hit the ground running. Now he's playing catch-up and it's because of how he behaved."
Isak has been outshone in the scoring stakes by fellow summer arrival Hugo Ekitike so far but he has confirmed he is now fully fit ahead of Sweden's game against Switzerland on Friday.
"I’m ready for 90 minutes if needed. It’s been a month now," he said, via Fotbollskanalen. "I’ve had a lot more playing time and things have calmed down. I feel in a much better position now than the last time [Sweden played]."
"That’s also a reason why we couldn’t play him so much last month," his national team manager Jan Dahl Tomasson said earlier this week on the risk of injury during the previous break, when Isak sat out one game and came off the bench in the other.
"We need a good Isak this month and next month. That’s how we plan, while Liverpool have done really well. I think Alexander is a good example in terms of how Liverpool have handled him in an excellent way."
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