Arne Slot explains why Alexander Isak is set to start over fitter Liverpool teammates

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A groin injury has only further delayed his integration into the team, and Slot has accepted that Isak will need to be handed minutes ahead of a teammate who is “ahead of him in match fitness.” “Alex, it will still take a bit of time but he will end up being the player he was at Newcastle if we get him fit, or how he was at Sociedad or all the other clubs he was at,” Slot told reporters, including the Echo. • READ: Liverpool FC team news vs. But for him to get there, he might need to have minutes where you could argue that another player might be further ahead of him in terms of match fitness.

“This morning, I had a conversation with the performance staff: ‘What is the best way for him – not for Liverpool – to get him as fast as we can to that 100%?’. “I always have to find the balance between what is the best for him as an individual and for us as a team.” Hugo Ekitike has started 11 of Liverpool’s 17 games so far and Slot’s comments hint that it could be the Frenchman who is compromised, unless he opts to play the pair together with Cody Gakpo then left out.

The problem is, I play a player – and I have done this with others – who is not 100 percent of their usual match fitness. I can see in training sessions, that if he is fully rested, then you can see his quality.