What Liverpool staff are all saying about Alexander Isak after watching him train

TBR Football understands that the Liverpool backroom staff are ecstatic about what they have seen of Alexander Isak in training.

Liverpool pursued Isak throughout the entirety of the summer transfer window and finally landed their man on deadline day when the Swede completed a £125 million British record transfer from Newcastle United.

The 25-year-old immediately reported to international duty with Sweden following his move to Anfield and has recently arrived at the AXA Training Centre for the first time as a Liverpool player.

Isak was involved in a limited capacity for the national side, remaining on the bench for the draw against Slovakia before making an 18-minute cameo in the loss against Kosovo.

And after his first training session in Kirkby, TBR Football can reveal that the Reds are thoroughly impressed with Isak’s involvement.

Exclusive: Alexander Isak has surprised Liverpool in training

According to TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey, the Reds are surprised by how sharp Isak has looked in his first training session.

Bailey states: “I am told the staff were not expecting too much from Isak, although he had been training, he virtually missed all of pre-season, but he looked incredibly sharp.

“Liverpool won’t be rushing him, but he isn’t injured or anything, so they don’t think he is too far off – but they are delighted with what they have already seen. They really think he is a good fit for them.”

Isak had no pre-season at Newcastle, and his outing in the World Cup qualifier on Monday was the first time he had set foot onto the pitch since the Magpies’ loss to Everton on the final day of the 2024/25 season.

The Swedish international established himself as one of the most prolific goal scorers in Europe at St James’ Park last season as he finished runner-up for the Premier League’s Golden Boot to Mohamed Salah, with 23 goals scored in 34 appearances.

Sources informed TBR Football that Isak stood a minimal chance of making his full Liverpool debut at Turf Moor on Sunday, although Arne Slot has now ruled out the possibility.

However, Hugo Ekitike has hit the ground running at Anfield after the Frenchman scored three goals in his opening four competitive fixtures and is likely to retain his place as the spearhead of the attack.

Alexander Isak will not start for Liverpool vs Burnley

When speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s clash against Burnley, Slot confirmed that Isak will not start the match.

“First of all, I think the Swedish manager deserves a big, big compliment, because he gets one of the best, maybe the best, strikers in the world in, and needs to play two very important games for his country, but understands if he plays him twice for 90 minutes, then probably the player would have been injured for multiple weeks.

“We will treat Alex the same as they did, so don’t expect him to be every single game 90 minutes on the pitch, that’s definitely not going to happen.

“He missed a proper pre-season, he missed three or four months of team sessions, so now we have to build him up gradually with us playing so many games. That’s going to be a challenge, but we’ve signed him not only for the upcoming two weeks, we’ve signed him for six years, so this is what we have to keep in mind, and what the fans have to keep in mind.”

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