Sweden manager fires subtle Alexander Isak dig as Liverpool treatment assessed

Alexander Isak has been recovering from a long time out following his controversial exit from Newcastle United with Liverpool managing his return to action carefully

Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson, has subtly criticised Newcastle United while praising Liverpool for their management of Alexander Isak. The forward made a record-breaking £125m move to the Reds on transfer deadline day, after effectively going on strike at St. James’ Park to secure his departure.

Isak didn’t play a single match for Newcastle during pre-season, spending most of his time training solo. Consequently, he was out of action for nearly four months before returning to the pitch for Sweden during the September international break.

The striker remained on the bench for Sweden’s World Cup qualifier against Slovenia, only to be brought on in the 72nd minute during their 2-0 loss to Kosovo. Since then, he’s had six outings for Liverpool – starting four times – but with the Reds carefully managing his game time, Isak has clocked up 312 minutes and contributed one goal and one assist.

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After Liverpool’s defeat to Chelsea, Isak confessed that he’s still working his way back to full fitness following his disrupted summer. However, he’s set to see more action during the October international break, having been selected for the Sweden squad to take on Switzerland and Kosovo in their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

Tomasson has confessed he remains uncertain whether Isak will be capable of completing a full 90 minutes for Sweden, though he maintains the striker has shown encouraging improvement since his previous call-up. “I don’t know, to be honest, as he hasn’t played 90 minutes yet,” he explained.

“But one thing I know is that he looks better than a month ago, which is normal. He also made an excellent assist this weekend (against Chelsea).

“I don’t know if it’s a long way (until he is back to his best), but we’re getting closer, as you need six weeks in a pre-season. First you play 45 minutes, then 60 minutes, 75 minutes and 90 minutes.

“Then you need another three weeks to be at your best. That’s normal.

“Whether it will be 90 minutes also depends on the matches, so I can’t give a good answer about that. We need to look at the players individually and we get data from the clubs regarding what the players can do physically and whether they can play 90 minutes or not twice.

“He has his own pre-season and plays competitive games. It’s a tough way to get fit, but they’ve handled it well.

“I think he has done very well. When you come to a new club it is normal that it can take time to interact with the new teammates.

“He is doing his pre-season with competitive matches and I think he and Liverpool have handled it very well. If you look at the way he plays, the way he moves is top class – I still think he is very good.”

Meanwhile, Tomasson also took a swipe at Newcastle, where he featured as a player during his career, highlighting how their contrasting approach with Yoane Wissa compared to Isak backfired spectacularly. The DR Congo striker moved to the Magpies in a £55m switch from Brentford on deadline day as one of two replacements for Isak, having also suffered a disrupted summer whilst attempting to engineer a move away.

However, the 29-year-old has yet to feature for his new side after sustaining a knee problem during the September international window, and isn’t anticipated to return until November. “We can’t change the situation (with Isak),” Tomasson concluded.

“I’m just happy that Liverpool are doing the same thing I would have done. You can see what Newcastle did with Yoane Wissa, who came in instead of Isak.

“He played international matches with Congo straight away and is now injured. He is still injured.

“That’s also a reason why we couldn’t play him so much last month. We need a good Isak this month and next month. That’s how we plan, while Liverpool have done really well.”

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