It seems that Liverpool are set to miss out on young Swedish striker Alexander Isak, according to the Mirror, as they claim that the forward, labelled “the next Zlatan Ibrahimovic”, will be subject to a bid from Juventus as the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich also monitor the situation of the AIK player. The club are expecting a record fee to be received for their man, who has scored seven times in 19 games for the club this season.
The feisty 17-year-old undoubtedly has huge potential and could excel under the tutelage of Jurgen Klopp but it is hard to see how Anfield would be the best place for his development with the German already struggling to juggle a number of players who are fighting for a place in the first team when it comes to attacking strikers. Isak is one for the future but will take more time and attention than the likes of Divock Origi and Danny Ings, both of whom are already finding it hard to force Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Phillipe Coutinho out of the starting eleven.
After Saturday lunchtime’s comeback victory over Swansea, it has now been confirmed that Adam Lallana will miss out on England’s upcoming two World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia due to a groin injury, claim BBC Sport. The midfielder will see it as a major blow, having scored the winner in England’s last game against Slovakia and since having gone on a remarkable run of form which has seen him become one of the most important players in Klopp’s new set up alongside Jordan Henderson and Georgino Wijnaldum in a midfield trio.
Klopp remains hopeful that Lallana will return to fitness in time to face Manchester United after the international break in a crunch match for the Anfield outfit and fans will be desperate to see him return in time for the clash. For Gareth Southgate though, it is the interim boss’ first taste of the frustration of injury to key players in his squad before his first call-ups have even been announced as they are expected to be confirmed this evening.
The Guardian also picked up on Jurgen Klopp’s reaction to the game against Swansea, as he was clearly disappointed with his side’s display at the Liberty Stadium:
“We were not ready for this game… The body language was not good, the build-up was too static… I said to the boys: ‘I am 49, so I have a lost a lot of football games and unfortunately I will lose a few [more].’ But today makes no sense, because it’s not a day where we should lose a football game, because we could have done so much better in the first half… It’s not allowed that we accept a bad day. Even on a bad day you have to fight against the start in this game, you have to strike back… So we were angry at half-time but with ourselves, with nobody else… But it’s very important that on not brilliant performance days that we’re still able to win.”
Klopp will now welcome the two week break to work with the players not on international duty and hope that his players away with their national teams manage to avoid injury ahead of a vital game against the Red Devils.
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