John Aldridge has said one of Liverpool’s summer signings should now start to pay off for Arne Slot’s side, starting with the Anfield showdown against Manchester United next weekend.
Alexander Isak arrived on Merseyside in the final hours of deadline day, having failed to properly prepare after going on strike to force an exit from Newcastle. So he had to build up his fitness in his first few weeks with the Reds.
Having made nine appearances for club and country since the start of September – including all 90 minutes of Sweden’s defeat to Switzerland on Friday – the 26-year-old should be ready to tackle the rest of the season.
Aldridge: ‘No more excuses’ for Isak after soft launch at Liverpool
In his latest column for the Liverpool echoAldridge claimed the honeymoon period for signing the Reds’ record signings was over and he now has to show why we spent money £125 million on him at the end of the summer transfer window.
The former LFC striker wrote: “During my playing days people were talking about me needing a month or so off to stay fit over the summer, and Isak will have had around six to seven weeks by the time Manchester United arrive at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
“Okay, the games he’s been in for Liverpool so far have all had something going for them because they haven’t been friendlies, but it feels like the international break for Sweden will have helped him get fitter at club level.
“This is the time for him to deliver. No more ‘excuses’. No more ‘explanations’. United are next and there is no better time or team to show why you are now one of the most important men at a club as big as Liverpool.”
Hopefully Isak can now really make his mark at Liverpool
Isak has scored once in 312 minutes of playing time for Liverpool so far, a significant drop from the average of a goal every 123.11 minutes for Newcastle last season (27 in 3,324 minutes).
The subdued start could be put down to his need to regain match fitness after a failed summer, but as Aldridge says, the 26-year-old should now be sharp enough to make a telling impact for the Reds after the run of games he has had since September’s international break.
Although fellow summer signings Florian Wirtz and Milos Kerkez appear to be facing more media attention than the Swedish marksman, BBC reporter Michael Emons recently wrote that ‘question marks remain’ over whether our number 9 can fit into the same lineup as Hugo Ekitike.
Despite Isak’s excellent goalscoring record in England and Man United’s woes in recent years, his return against the Red Devils has been fairly mediocre by his standards. He is only netted against them. once in eight games throughout his career (Newcastle’s 2-0 win at Old Trafford last season).
If he can add to that tally with a decisive goal on Sunday, it would make him a darling of the Kop and hopefully spark a continued streak of goals in a Liverpool shirt in the coming months!
You can watch Slot’s post-Chelsea press conference via Kingdom of the Head on YouTube:
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