Arne Slot makes Alexander Isak fitness admission ahead of Merseyside Derby

Alexander Isak made his Liverpool debut in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night, but Arne Slot has confirmed the Swede is still feeling the effects of his first start since the final day of last season

Arne Slot has provided a fitness update on Alexander Isak following the Swede’s Liverpool bow against Atletico Madrid in midweek. The striker sealed his move to the Reds on transfer deadline day in a British record £125m switch.

After effectively downing tools at Newcastle United throughout the summer to engineer his departure, Isak completed 58 minutes against the Spanish side in an impressive first outing for Liverpool as he made his maiden start since the final day of the last campaign.

Speaking after the Atletico clash, Slot acknowledged that Isak would certainly not complete 90 minutes against Everton.

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And whilst he declined to reveal whether the Swede would keep his starting spot against the Toffees on Saturday, Slot confirmed Isak was experiencing the after-effects following his debut and still requires careful management.

“I don’t think I tell the media a lot the day before the game, how we start the game,” he said at his pre-match press conference.

“We had recovery yesterday, we’re going to train this afternoon.

“So first of all, we have to see how they all feel. What I do know is that Alex did feel his body more maybe than ever before after the 60 minutes he played.

“So let’s see how he’s recovered today and then we’ll think about the line-up, mainly today, and you will hear it tomorrow.”

Hugo Ekitike is anticipated to spearhead the attack for Liverpool against Everton should Isak be rested. And Slot expressed his joy at having a wealth of attacking talent at his disposal as he revealed he has a fully fit and available squad to select from for Saturday’s Merseyside derby.

“I consider (if Ekitike could play upfront with Isak), of course, because you consider many things,” he said. “It depends always on how well they are doing.

“If both of them are in the best form of their life, you even consider more playing them together.

“But it’s also quite clear that we have a certain structure which has mainly been 4-3-3, playing with three midfielders.

“But the amount of time, in the end phase of the game we’ve played with two nines. That has happened quite a lot as well.

“Hugo can indeed also play from the left, different from when Cody (Gakpo) or Rio (Ngumoha) do this. This is the good thing about our squad, we have multiple options.

“But first of all they all have to stay fit for me to have these options. And if some of them are not fit, we might have to use them both in a 4-4-2. That all depends on the form of them and how many players we have available.

“I think maybe all of them are fit now and I think I can choose between 21 players. That’s quite normal, isn’t it? It’s not that it’s far too much.”

Meanwhile, Slot confirmed that Curtis Jones is now back in the running to feature for Liverpool after sitting out the previous two matches through injury.

“He’s back in the frame,” the Dutchman confirmed. “In the squad, I would say.”

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