Private talks go on as Reds and Sweden look for perfect FIT

CLUB AND COUNTRY TRYING TO STRIKE A DELICATE BALANCE AS ALEXANDER AIMS FOR UNITED LIFT-OFF

- By PAUL GORST Liverpool FC Correspondent

N an ideal world for Arne Slot, the fitness programme designed for Alexander Isak upon his Liverpool arrival would not have been so detailed.

The nature of his protracted and acrimonious move from Newcastle United in the summer transfer window inevitably had a knock-on effect for a player who, by the time he made his first appearance for the Reds, had gone four months without a minute of any kind at club level.

Isak’s only appearance between the end of last season on May 25 and that outing against Atletico Madrid on September 17 came when he played for just 18 minutes for Sweden against Kosovo earlier last month.

"The Swedish manager (Jon Dahl Tomasson) deserves a big compliment because he gets the best striker in the world but understands if he plays 90 minutes twice, he might be injured for a number of weeks," Liverpool head coach Slot said after the last international break.

"We will treat him the same as they did."