Having signed superstar striker Alexander Isak from Newcastle on deadline day in a blockbuster £125M transfer deal, plenty of Liverpool fans were disappointed to see the player immediately fly off to join the Swedish national team for two weeks and a pair of World Cup qualifiers.
For the player, though, having missed out on pre-season with Newcastle and only able to train on his own since last season ended, there are benefits to spending ten days with the national team. Or at least they are if everyone
is on the same page, which manager Jon Dahl Tomasson says they are.
“We’re not going to do anything stupid with him,” Tomasson replied when asked what role Isak will play with the national team here. “He hasn’t had a pre-season with enough training or matches. He can’t play 90 minutes. But we have a plan and he’s smiling and happy to be here.
“We always have communication with the clubs. I’ve spoken to [Arne Slot]. Our doctor has spoken to their doctor, our physio has spoken to their physio. I’m just happy that he is here. It doesn’t matter where players play as long as they play and are happy, and he is now extremely happy.”
Training with the national team rather than with Liverpool won’t help Isak to get up to speed tactically with his new club, but most of his new teammates are similarly off on international duty over the next ten days and what the player needs more than anything is match fitness.
Simply training in a team setting will help for Isak, and logging something like 90 minutes total in Sweden’s upcoming matches against Slovenia on Friday and then Kosovo on Monday will help even more, with a bench appearance against Burnley on the 14th for Liverpool then expected.
