Liverpool manager Arne Slot admits he did not speak much to Alexander Isak before move

LONDON – Liverpool manager Arne Slot admitted that he did not speak much to Alexander Isak before the club signed him from Newcastle United, which could be surprising for a player who cost a British record fee of £125 million.

The Premier League champions signed the Sweden forward on transfer deadline day, adding further firepower to their impressive squad.

Speaking ahead of the Sept 14 match against Burnley, Slot said: “Maybe people don’t believe me if I give you this answer but I haven’t spoken to him that much. I spoke to him after he signed by phone because he had to go to the national team and the way I, 99 out of 100 times, treat my players during international breaks is I leave them for the manager they are working with over there.

“So, I texted him now maybe once or twice because he is new to us (and) I wanted to know how he did. But I do have to get to know him as a person much better in the upcoming days and weeks.

“We find it very important how someone is because we have such a great culture here at this club, we mainly sign a player also for his qualities and therefore I don’t need to call them. We faced him a few times, I faced him a few times, and I know what a quality player he is.”

The Dutchman also praised Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson for the way he handled Isak’s workload during the international break.

The 25-year-old, who has not played any club football this season, was on the bench for Sweden’s 2-2 World Cup qualifying draw against Slovenia and was brought on as a late substitute in the 2-0 defeat by Kosovo.

“He gets one of the best, maybe the best striker in the world, and needs to play two very important games for his country, but understands that if he would play him twice for 90 minutes, then probably the player would have been injured,” Slot added.

“And that’s not always easy for a manager, that he takes care of the interest of a player, so he deserves a big compliment for that. And we will treat Alex the same as they did, so don’t expect him to be every single game 90 minutes on the pitch.”

While there are positives, a deadline-day move to sign Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi collapsed. Slot, whose team have won all three of their Premier League matches this season, admitted he had been keen to sign Guehi but would not be drawn about any future bid.

Despite that, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admits Liverpool have assembled the “strongest” squad in the Premier League after the Reds signed Isak.

Liverpool spent over £400 million on new recruits, with Florian Wirtz arriving for £100 million from Bayer Leverkusen. Their spree was around £200 million more than Arsenal spent on eight new players but their net spend was actually less due to over £200 million in sales.

Asked how the arrival of Isak at Anfield could shape the title race, Arteta, whose side finished 10 points behind Liverpool last season, said: “They are the strongest for sure.

“They have recruited the two most decisive players that were in Europe in the market (Isak and Wirtz). They were very, very strong, and we need to look at ourselves and what we have to do in terms of our abilities to be better than them.” AFP