Portugal Colonial - Isak not in Liverpool squad for Burnley game

Liverpool boss Arne Slot said on Friday that the forward, signed for a British-record fee of £125 million ($169 million) from Newcastle this month, would be eased in after a disrupted pre-season.

Isak's arrival at Anfield after a protracted chase was part of an eye-catching Liverpool splurge of more than £400 million in the summer transfer window.

Slot, speaking at his pre-match press conference, described Isak as "maybe the best striker in the world" but he urged fans to be patient.

"He missed a proper pre-season, I think he missed three or four months of team sessions, so now we have to build him up gradually, with us playing so many games, hardly any training time."

Speaking before kick-off on Sunday, he reiterated that the 25-year-old forward needs more time.

"We've decided it is the best for him to have a proper week of training instead of every time going for five or 10 minutes of playing," he told Sky Sports.

"I can assure the fans that he will be involved on Wednesday (against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League), but this game came a bit too early."

Liverpool named the same starting XI that began the victory over Arsenal before the international break.

The champions have won all three of their Premier League matches so far this season.

Newly promoted Burnley have won one of their three games matches so far.

C.Cassis--PC