Alexander Isak has completed a high-profile move to Liverpool from Newcastle United, though he has not featured in a competitive match since last season following a drawn-out transfer saga.
The Swedish striker has acknowledged uncertainty over his readiness to play in Liverpool’s upcoming fixture, admitting he is still working towards full match fitness.
Isak joined the Reds on summer transfer deadline day for a British record fee of £125 million, bringing an end to protracted negotiations.
The forward had informed Newcastle that he no longer wished to represent the club after three years at St James’ Park. He enjoyed a prolific campaign last season, scoring 27 goals, including the decisive strike in Newcastle’s 2-1 Carabao Cup final victory over Liverpool at Wembley.
Following that decision, Isak trained separately from the Magpies throughout the summer. He did not join Eddie Howe’s squad on their pre-season tour of Asia and was absent for Newcastle’s first three Premier League fixtures of the 2025/26 season.
Liverpool supporters are eager to see Isak make his debut when the team travel to Burnley on Sunday, 14 September, following the international break. The striker has joined Sweden’s squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Slovenia and Kosovo, where he hopes to gain valuable minutes. However, he has suggested that his availability for the Burnley match remains uncertain, with his fitness still under assessment.
Speaking to the club website, Isak said: “Yeah, of course, I think that’s the ambition. However, I’ve had a tricky summer where I haven’t played any games and I’ve had restricted training, so I think that’s one to judge and to analyse where I am at and how much I am ready to give. But I certainly want to play as soon as possible.”
Injury News
Liverpool are optimistic that Ibrahima Konate will be fit to feature against Burnley. The defender was withdrawn during Sunday’s 1-0 win over Arsenal, though head coach Arne Slot explained that the issue appeared to be cramp rather than a more serious problem.
“He thinks it is cramp and I have no reason to doubt him, although sometimes players talk about cramp and then we make a scan and it is more than that,” said Slot.
“Jeremie Frimpong wasn’t too happy, like some pundits and journalists, when I took him off against Bournemouth because he thought he only had cramp, or only felt a little bit, and he is already out for two or three weeks now. Let’s wait and see.
“On a positive note… Joe Gomez, what a 15 minutes. I had to make one difficult choice today because I had to leave one player out of the squad with only Jeremie Frimpong being injured, so then I only had to make one difficult decision on who I could not take in the squad. The good thing was it was a centre-back, Giovanni Leoni, so we are perfectly placed in that position.”
Konate seems to have escaped any significant setback, having joined up with the France national team for the international break. Florian Wirtz was also substituted in the clash with Arsenal due to cramp.
At present, Jeremie Frimpong remains the sole Liverpool player in the treatment room, with the defender recovering from a hamstring problem.
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