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Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has welcomed Alexander Isak to Anfield, but the Dutch center-back refused to disclose what he said to the Swede in March when the pair were spotted in conversation at Wembley.
Isak scored against Liverpool to help end Newcastle United's 70-year wait for a trophy. A few months later, after a long drawn-out saga, his move broke the British transfer record when it went through for a fee of $169 million (£125 million).
"I know it was a very difficult time," Van Dijk told reporters at Turf Moor. "When negotiations always drag on, it's never easy. So many things going on behind the scenes.
"Not only me, but the whole team and everyone connected to the club were very pleased that the deal got done. Now he's here, he's a part of the family.
"It is time for him to be as fit as he can as quickly as possible, and be important for us with goals, with assists, with link-up play, and with what Hugo [Ekitike] has already been showing and doing, pushing each other and bringing us to the next level."
What did he say to Isak after the Carabao Cup final? "I'm not telling you!" Van Dijk said. "Maybe in two years' time or three years' time, I will tell you. But not now. I can't remember!"
Isak was left at home to continue working on getting himself ready for a potential appearance against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday.
After missing almost the whole summer because of the strike that forced through his transfer to Liverpool, it was decided that it wasn't the best course of action for Isak to play a few minutes at Turf Moor.
He could, as a result, play 45 minutes when he makes his Liverpool bow, Arne Slot explained at the final whistle. And his teammates got the job done without him.
"Today we kept trying," Van Dijk said. "We played against a team that had a very low block so it was always going to be difficult. It could easily have been a draw because of the way that they defended.
"It's frustrating when you play against that sort of style, but you have to give them credit for it because they did it pretty well. In the end, we got the penalty that we deserved, basically because we kept pushing. The body language was good.
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"We kept pushing each other, stayed positive, and didn't get frustrated. We did everything we could and obviously we found a way with the penalty."
In the second half, Slot moved Dominik Szoboszlai into midfield and then threw on Federico Chiesa, Jeremie Frimpong and Rio Ngumoha in a bid to win the game, taking a chance in a bid to turn one point into three.
"The manager knows what he is doing, and he has full trust in me and the others at the back," Van Dijk said. "At the end of the day, I always say that we defend together and we attack together.
"We have to make sure we are well organized and make sure we don't concede counter-attacks, which is what they tried to do today as well. I think we did that pretty well. Two clean sheets on the bounce and we have to keep going and keep improving."
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