£125m Alex on Sweden duty as club form stutters

Reds striker Isak appears locked in Groundhog Day

- By PAUL GORST

IT'S fair to say new Sweden boss Graham Potter did not want to get into the weeds of Alexander Isak's fitness issues when prompted this week.

The former West Ham United, Chelsea and Brighton manager is set to take charge of his first match tomorrow when the struggling Swedes are hosted by Switzerland.

And ahead of that World Cup qualifier, Potter was asked about Liverpool's £125m man.

"Alexander is here," Potter confirmed. "I've spoken briefly with him. He's feeling well, has no issues."

It was far from a booming statement with regards to his star player but, right now, Isak could do without the noise and the bluster.

Nearly two and a half months into his time on Merseyside and the former Newcastle star finds himself at the same juncture he arrived at in September.

Isak has played just 253 Premier League minutes of the 720 played by Liverpool since he signed at the start of September, excluding stoppage time, and his last run-out for his new club came in a 45-minute cameo against Eintracht Frankfurt on October 22, when he picked up a groin injury.

As a result, the 26-year-old has largely watched on in recent weeks, helpless to stop a run that now stands at seven defeats in the last 10 games in all competitions.