I saw what Alexander Isak did in Liverpool training as Mohamed Salah gets his wish

Theo Squires was in attendance at the AXA Training Centre for Liverpool’s open training session ahead of their Champions League opener against Atletico Madrid as Alexander Isak closes in on making his Reds debut

supporters were understandably disappointed when Alexander Isak was left out of the matchday squad to face Burnley last Sunday, but Arne Slot had a plan. It has been a disjointed summer for the Swede, who was essentially on strike at Newcastle United before belatedly being granted a club-record £125m move to Anfield on transfer deadline day.

Prior to an 18-minute substitute appearance for Sweden during the international break, he had not made an appearance of any kind since the last day of last season back in May. He skipped Newcastle’s pre-season tour of the Far East and trained alone, away from Eddie Howe’s first team squad, following their return to Tyneside.

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Consequently, it was always going to take time for him to get back up to speed following his move to Liverpool, with the Reds wisely opting to manage him carefully as a result.

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That is why the striker was absent at Turf Moor. But it also leaves him in a stronger position to make his Liverpool debut against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.

“Alex is far from ready for that schedule of three games in a week, 90 minutes,” Slot explained after his side’s victory over Burnley. “But then we could use him today for five minutes and then Wednesday again 10, and then 15, but we don’t believe that is the way to build him up.

“We believe it’s the way… Sweden did the right thing of giving him good sessions without playing him a lot because if you play the player, you cannot give him good sessions.

press conference – Alexander Isak decision, Curtis Jones injury, Diego Simeone updates

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“They did the right thing [and] we did the same, so now he will be able either Wednesday or Saturday to play 45 as a minimum, and maybe a little bit more.

“But if he plays 45 on Wednesday, don’t expect him to play 45 or more on Saturday because his body is not prepared for that, in our opinion.”

Time will tell if those 45 minutes minimum are forthcoming for Isak against Atletico Madrid. But the ECHO were in attendance as he took the latest steps towards making both his club playing return and Liverpool debut at the AXA Training Centre on Tuesday.