Gary Lineker warned Liverpool about Alexander Isak problem long before transfer

Lineker

Gary Lineker cautioned Liverpool regarding Alexander Isak's fitness concerns before the Merseyside club shattered the Premier Leaguetransfer record.

The 26-year-old forward, whom the Reds acquired from Newcastle for £125 million ($166.6 million) during the summer, picked up a groin problem in Wednesday's 5-1 triumph against Eintracht Frankfurt.

During an appearance on the Rest is Football podcast last year, Lineker drew attention to Isak's injury history as a possible warning for pursuing clubs.

The former Match of the Day host remarked:

Lineker

"17 goals in 24 Premier League appearances. I mean, the only question mark against him is that he has missed a few games."

Despite Lineker's concerns, the Reds completed the transfer on deadline day during the summer – and they seem to have suffered the consequences.

Isak was compelled to withdraw at the interval against the Bundesliga side, concluding another disappointing performance for Arne Slot's team.

The Sweden striker has struggled to make his mark since donning the Liverpool shirt, finding the net just once across eight outings.

His sole strike for the Merseyside club arrived against Southampton in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

Regrettably for Isak, he might need to wait "a few weeks" before receiving another chance to register his first Liverpool goal in the Premier League and the Champions League.

Speaking to journalists after bringing an end to the Reds' four-match losing run, Slot offered an assessment regarding the Swede.

The Dutchman remarked: "Alex had to go off at half-time and that's not something you ask for.

Slot

"He felt his groin, so let's hope it's not too bad. I'm hoping that this doesn't have to be that bad because if he would be out now for a few weeks, that would throw him back or put him back.

“I don't know how to say it, but it's the difficult balance we were having with him. When he came, he hardly had trained.

"You try to prepare players for once-a-week football, but if you are Liverpool and you play every three days, or normally three times in eight days, then you try to prepare them for that program, which is not always so easy if you don't have preseason.

“So that's what we tried to do. He missed out on pre-season and didn't train for a long time with the team."

Slot explained that Liverpool had battled to restore Isak's match sharpness following his strike action at Newcastle during preseason. The beleaguered Reds manager noted:

Slot

"He came in the first of September.

“We had to bring him to us once a week and now we've tried to bring him to us twice a week, which he did for the national team [Sweden].

“He was perfectly fit when he came back from the national team.

"He was perfectly fit before the [Manchester] United game, so we were expecting him to be ready to play again today, which he did, but he felt his groin a little bit. I think we did exactly what was needed.

"We were really careful with him. The Swedish national team as well. They played him twice last time, which he could do, so I'm not criticizing at all the Swedish national team, because we actually told them that he's ready to play twice.

“So it's a thin balance if you missed out on pre-season. Some march through it and some unfortunately get injured again."

According to a summer report by ESPN, Arsenal was put off by Isak's injury history. The report suggested that the Gunners deemed the risk too high, hence why they shifted their focus to Viktor Gyokeres.

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