Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has been discussing club record signing Alexander Isak, who struggled in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland
Arne Slot has admitted that Liverpool need to improve at getting Alexander Isak involved more in the final third. The striker scored his first Premier League goal for the Reds in last weekend’s 2-0 victory over West Ham United.
However, he was starved of chances in a quiet display as Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw by Sunderland in midweek.
Isak has endured a slow start to his Anfield career following his British record £125m move from Newcastle United, returning just two goals from his first 12 appearances for the club in all competitions. However, the Sweden international has had to play catch-up following a disjointed pre-season at St. James’ Park.
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Isak has started three of Liverpool’s last four matches against Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Sunderland, with his limited number of touches across the three starts (14 on average) not going unnoticed.
But comparing the forward to Erling Haaland, Slot dismissed such concerns. However, he did concede that it is up to the Reds to get Isak on the ball more in dangerous positions.
“I think he is not the only one, the only number nine that suffers in some games from not getting as many chances,” he said.
“I watched the second half of Leeds against City and I watched the whole game against Chelsea and it is not like, at this level, the No.9 is involved in eight, nine, 10 chances every single half.
“But it is obvious and clear to me we, as a team, want to bring him more often into threatening situations.
“Before we went to only one goal conceded in two games, we had a lot of chances in the last two games as a result because we were a little bit more compact and maybe took a little less risks.
“We haven’t been able to create that many chances as we did before so it’s definitely one of the things on my list of things to improve, getting our number nine more involved in the game, let alone more involved in the final third.
“It’s not ideal for me (to have average 14 touches per game). But he had 22 for Newcastle. In this league, strikers don’t touch the ball that much.
“But the few times they do touch it, it’s quite nice if they finish it off. I have no clue what the stats of Haaland are but I wouldn’t be surprised if he maybe doesn’t touch it 100 times a game. But he does score a lot.
“It is more important for them to touch the ball in the right time than to touch it so many times. We have to make sure, because this is a complete difference between Haaland and Alex, that Haaland touches it a lot more in moments where it matters.
“There we have to improve, that’s clear and obvious. We and he as well.”
While Isak might not be as involved as much as Slot would like, the Dutchman has been pleased to see Florian Wirtz playing a more decisive role for Liverpool since returning from injury.
The German earned the Reds a draw against Sunderland after his shot on goal was deflected in by Nordi Mukiele, with Slot quick to point out the playmaker is growing in confidence.
“There are positives to take from the players we’ve brought in during the summer,” he said. “I see they are getting more and more consistent with their performances.
“Florian is maybe the most obvious one but I see the same with Milos Kerkez as well. Alex scored his first goal as well. There are positives to take but we’re still not where we want to be.
“If you could only have confidence if you score goals then that would be the wrong thing I think. You can see where his (Wirtz’s) confidence is at if you look at the last two games.
“How many times he wants the ball and how many times his team-mates play him the ball. That is something that tells me how much confidence he has at the moment.
“He also came back with an injury from Germany so I am happy he can play so many minutes in these two games after he came back with an injury. He has done well.
“I wasn’t surprised he was involved in the goal against Sunderland, because he was one of the ones who kept constantly trying and was creative.”
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But while Wirtz again caught the eye against Sunderland, it was a difficult night for Cody Gakpo as the Dutchman was withdrawn at half-time.
Slot dismissed suggestions that the forward is struggling due to a lack of competition following the summer sale of Luis Diaz.
“You can look at it in a way that if a player plays a lot, it gives him consistency and self-confidence,” he said. “Usually when I speak to players who don’t play every time, usually their answer is they need to play every single minute they can, it brings them more confidence and they can bring the most out of themselves.
“The reason why I haven’t tried Hugo off the left a lot of times is an obvious one. Because of the Alexander Isak situation, not being available or not being available to start every single game.
“Rio (Ngumoha) has had minutes but I think for a 17-year-old, he’s already had many more minutes than any other 17-year-old at any other club in the Premier League. So that is a positive for him.
“I don’t think Cody suffers from the fact that doesn’t have competition, because there are players who can play in his position.
“Usually players prefer to have a situation where they have their confidence and an understanding that they might play many minutes.”
