Slot drops huge Isak Liverpool debut hint as costly Wissa

Liverpool manager Arne Slot dropped a major hint over Alexander Isak’s likely Liverpool debut date after leaving him out of his squad to face Burnley on Sunday.

The Reds’ new record signing was nowhere to be seen on the team sheet for the Premier League clash, as Slot stuck with Hugo Ekitike up top and Rio Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa in reserve.

Isak did earn 18 minutes for Sweden during their World Cup Qualifying loss to Kosovo earlier this month, his first appearance of any kind since the end of the 2024-25 campaign with Newcastle United.

However, having not had any sort of pre-season with the Magpies, Isak is still building up his match fitness and is not yet ready to make his Reds debut, let alone start or play a full 90 minutes.

Reds fans should not have to wait too much longer to see the £125m man in action, though, as Slot confirmed to Sky Sports News that he will be in line to face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Slot confirms Isak in line for Liverpool debut against Atletico Madrid

“Not today. As everybody knew, he didn’t have any team training at Newcastle, then went to the national team and only played 15, 20 minutes,” Slot said.

“We think with a week where we play three games in seven days, this is the best lead-up for him to be available against Atletico Madrid.”

Asked by Jamie Carragher how long it would take the former Real Sociedad striker to get up to “full speed”, Slot replied: “That’s always difficult to say, up to full speed.

“What I can say, normally in a pre-season after one or two weeks, you play your first 45 or 60 minutes and build that up gradually. But you do that with proper training sessions during the week, now we hardly have any proper training session with the team, because we play three games in seven days.

“Where would he be, second third week of pre-season I would say? So hopefully able to play during the week 45 minutes or more. But then two days later, as you know, we play Everton again.

“So it’s going to be interesting for performance staff and for us to get the best out of him from the start, but also keep him available until the end.”

Slot highlights Yoane Wissa mistake after Isak debut claim

Isak was not the only Premier League player to go on strike this summer, as Yoane Wissa refused to train at Brentford to force a move through to Newcastle.

However, the DR Congo international is now sidelined with a knee injury after starting both of his nation’s recent World Cup qualifiers without a pre-season, and Slot highlighted those errors to justify his decision to keep Isak in cotton wool.

“Another player that wasn’t available for team training a long time, Wissa,” Slot added. “He got two games and he’s out with an injury now. That tells you how difficult the balance is with a player who missed team sessions for such a long time.”

After Wednesday’s UCL showdown with Diego Simeone’s side, Isak could earn his first Premier League minutes in a Liverpool kit during the Merseyside derby with Everton next Saturday lunchtime.

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