What Alexander Isak must forget now he's finally at Liverpool

Former Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole says Alexander Isak’s “horrendous summer” means it will take time before the £125m striker is firing on all cylinders at Anfield. Isak moved to the club on transfer deadline day at the beginning of the month, ending a summer-long saga at Newcastle United that started with the Sweden international refusing to fly out on tour of the Far East in July before being made to train alone by manager Eddie Howe.

Isak played no part in the Magpies’ pre-season as a result of his attempts to force through his dream move to Anfield and with the Premier League champions visiting newly-promoted Burnley on Sunday afternoon, Cole doesn’t expect the No.9 to feature prominently just yet.

“No, I don’t expect him to go into the team straight away,” Cole told Paddy Power. “I think they’ve got to be smart with him.

“And you’ve got to expect Liverpool to do that with all of their players – they’ve been blooded in. They are playing well. (Hugo) Ekitike’s scoring goals, there’s no need to rush him.”

“I think it’s a smart thing to do, is just to feed him in, let him come off the bench, let all the hoo-ha die down, and just let him figure out how to become a Liverpool player.

“There’s no rush. It’s not like they’ve lost two of the first three and they need him right at it. You know, come on with 20 minutes, half an hour to go, and see how he goes.

“You have to remember, this lad’s had a horrendous summer. To push his move, what expense is him pushing his move at Newcastle to get there? All the bad energy coming from the Newcastle fans.

“It didn’t sit right with a lot of football fans. He’s been inactive in playing and training with top-level players for so long. So is that going to dull his ability straight away?”

Cole, who played for the Reds from 2010 to 2013, added: “Because the lad’s had such a horrendous summer, you’ve got to be made of stone to not have that affect you. You are the biggest transfer saga of the summer. Your phone will be blowing up.

“Every person will be asking, ‘when is it happening?’ You don’t know when you wake up in the morning, has a bid been accepted? Has it not been accepted? Are you going to have to stay at Newcastle? All of that emotional baggage he’s going to have to deal with now. Put that to bed and restart becoming a footballer.”

What Alexander Isak must forget now he’s finally at Liverpool

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