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Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock reckons Alexander Isak won't hit his peak until next season, following a proper summer schedule. The Sweden international has managed just one Premier League goal for the Reds since his British-record arrival from Newcastle United in September.
The bitter circumstances surrounding his Newcastle departure meant the striker missed out on a pre-season schedule at St James' Park, with Isak excluded from the first team by manager Eddie Howe and forced to train alone whilst attempting to secure his blockbuster switch to Anfield.
Consequently, Isak has appeared well below the form that saw him net 23 goals for the Magpies last campaign, with a groin injury sustained in October also hampering the 26 year old's progress.
"From Isak's point of view, I have my own podcast with my fitness coach, and one of the things we discussed was that he's not fit and he won't get fit until next season because when you come into a football club and haven't done a full pre-season with players, it's very difficult to get up to speed," Warnock told aceodds.
"When you are talking about doing runs on your own, you're not getting pushed by anyone. What I mean by that is if there's a 1k run to do and the fitness coach says you've got four minutes to complete that run, you'll amble around and get it done in around that time.
"You might push yourself a little bit. If I start running with him or a player starts running with him, it becomes competitive and that's how you get your fitness over time. It makes you push yourself and you get fitter. You need that competitive edge when you're in a pre-season.
"When he came to the football club, they said they'll put him on a mini pre-season. I watched him against Southampton in the Carabao Cup and he played the first 45 minutes and then at half-time, he started doing runs. But he ran on his own again. So the runs aren't competitive. There was nothing competitive at Liverpool to push him.
"I just don't think we're going to see anything from Isak this year. I watched him numerous times where he doesn't look fit enough. He doesn't look sharp and confident in his body to accelerate away from people.
"He's probably thinking to himself: 'I used to be able to do this' and people in the stands are thinking that's not the Isak I saw at Newcastle. Well it's not because he's not fit enough and he's not ready to play in the Premier League at the highest level.
"We spoke on the podcast and we said he won't be ready till next season and maybe that's where we see Hugo Ekitike accelerate past Isak and Isak will have to bide his time a little bit more."
Speaking about Hugo Ekitike, who has now netted 10 goals for Liverpool since his summer transfer, Warnock commented: "I don't think they'd have signed both players had it not been for the horrific tragedy with Diogo Jota. If that had not happened, I think they would have only signed one striker plus Florian Wirtz.
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"They sort of realised that they'd be low on numbers and they might need to sign another striker. I think they would have gone for Isak and then Ekitike became available and they added him in.
"I don't think they would have thought that Ekitike would be as prominent as he has been and play as well as he is. I think they thought he was more of a future buy and someone who could be a backup to Isak. Someone who could come off the bench and slowly be integrated into the team.
"But since Ekitike's arrival at the club, he has fully embraced playing for Liverpool. He thrives off it and loves it. I think he's been outstanding. I understand why they bought both players."
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