Ian Rush warns Arne Slot his new Liverpool signing really doesn’t look match-fit

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Ian Rush has insisted that a Liverpool signing is badly lacking match sharpness this season.

Arne Slot splashed around £450million on new recruits during the summer, transforming the spine of his team despite leading them to the Premier League title at a canter last year.

In an unprecedented window, Alexander Isak arrived for £125million while £116m was invested on Florian Wirtz. Striker Hugo Ekitike also set the Reds back around £70m.

There have since been plenty of warning signs surrounding Wirtz’s sluggish start in the top-flight, but Ian Rush believes another recent arrival is also performing below par.

Ian Rush says Alexander Isak needs time

Liverpool sealed a staggering British record deal for Alexander Isak on deadline day after making a belated breakthrough in negotiations, but the complicated transfer saga meant he missed pre-season.

The 26-year-old had been made to train away from Newcastle’s first team after publicly announcing his intention to leave, and he did not travel with his team-mates for their tour of Asia.

That meant he walked through the doors at Anfield painfully short of match sharpness, something the club looked to rectify by placing him on a personalised training programme.

“I think Isak, he just needs match fitness at the moment because what happened in the summer, I think he’s still not match fit,” Rush told talkSPORT.

“So we’ve got to bring him in slowly. Ekitike, he’s been fantastic for us. You know, he’s most probably the main man at the moment. So I think we’ve just got to give it time and see how it goes.”

Isak has started four of Liverpool’s last six games across all competitions in a major boost to Slot, but he has scored just once in that run, against Southampton in the Carabao Cup.

Ian Rush gives his verdict on Alexander Isak

While the Swede has not quite found his feet at his new club, Rush is seemingly confident he will justify the jaw-dropping price tag and lofty expectations currently dogging him.

Speaking to CGTN Sports Scene while on a club trip to Hong Kong during the summer, before Isak moved to Merseyside, the Liverpool legend said: “I think every club in the world would like to sign him.

“The way he performed last season was incredible.

“I watched him in the Carabao Cup final when he played against Liverpool, he was probably man of the match. So, I think every club in the world would like him.”