Patience is a virtue in Isak's quest to get back to his best

Arne Slot warned that it could be six months before the Swede reaches the peak of his powers at Liverpool, but he's showing glimpses behind closed doors

- Richard Jolly

Liverpool have had a glimpse of what Alexander Isak can do. They have seen it on the training pitch. They have seen it in first-team football, too. Though, almost 11 weeks into his Anfield career, such evidence still all came at their expense, and not to their benefit.

There was the Isak who scored on his Newcastle debut at Anfield, the one who delivered what proved the decisive goal in the Carabao Cup final to deny Arne Slot a first trophy as Liverpool manager, the Isak who got four goals in six games against them. Which is rather better than his current return of one in eight for them.

Slot has talked about signing Isak for the six-year duration of his contract. Perhaps worryingly, he has said it could take six months to see him at his best. Almost three have elapsed, interrupted by injury, and Isak still has a lone goal, against Southampton in the Carabao Cup.

His manager remains adamant that the wider world will see the Isak that prompted them to pay £125m; so far, he said, only Liverpool have seen that, in sessions where the Swede’s technique is an asset and his lack of sharpness no disadvantage.

“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,” Slot said. “Or how he was at [Real] Sociedad or all the other clubs he was at: he just needs to become fit. That is the challenge. It is underestimated so much that if you bring a player in on 1 September, the league [is] already three weeks in.” Or, indeed, if you bring in a player who missed preseason because he went on strike, though Slot did not mention that part.