Liverpool handed dream Alexander Isak update as Arne Slot gets best-case scenario

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Liverpool summer signing Alexander Isak is away on international duty with Sweden(Image: JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Liverpool's deadline day signing Alexander Isak is set to start on the bench for Sweden in their FIFA World Cup qualifier on Friday, according to reports from the country.

This decision comes after coach Jon Dahl Tomasson promised they would manage the striker's fitness following his move.

Isak became Liverpool's final signing of the summer 2025 window, completing a British-record £125m move from Newcastle United on Monday.



It was one he was forced to campaign for, as the 25-year-old sat out pre-season and the opening three Premier League matches of the new campaign in his attempt to force matters along.

A lack of action is cause for concern over an injury if the Reds' new No.9 is thrown back in too quickly, especially as that is up to the discretion of his national team over the September break.

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But as promised, Sweden are seemingly taking it easy with Aftonbladet report that he will only be used as a substitute, if at all, in the Blue and Yellow's World Cup qualifier against Slovenia on Friday night.

Instead, Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres and Newcastle United's Anthony Elanga - who is typically a winger - will start as a forward pairing.

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In the build-up Sweden boss Dahl Tomasson had clarified: "I saw him smiling, have you seen his face?

So we, of course, have a plan but he is smiling and he is happy to be here.

"No instruction (from Liverpool), we always have good connections with a lot of clubs, I have spoken to the manager.

And normal communication we have with each club, it is quite honest."

If Isak gets through the international break unscathed then he could potentially be handed a Liverpool debut by Arne Slot for the trip to Burnley on Sunday, September 14.

That marks the start of an action-packed week for the club as they kickstart their Champions League campaign against Atletico Madrid before the first Merseyside derby of the season, both at Anfield.

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Elanga, who joined compatriot Isak at Newcastle this summer before the transfer saga went into overdrive, has spoken about the situation now too.

He told Fotbollskanalen: "He had a contract with us and right now he's with Liverpool.