Slot backs Isak after hyped move to Liverpool
Arne Slot has backed new signing Alexander Isak after his Newcastle United exit as Liverpool looks to extend its perfect start to the 2025-2026 Premier League season against Burnley.
A stunning Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick was the difference between Slot's side and Arsenal during its most recent Premier League showing, with Liverpool taking an early-season advantage at the top.
Liverpool's recent history at Turf Moor has been dominant, having won eight of its nine away Premier League matches at Burnley, losing the other one, winning the past six consecutively.
A record-breaking transfer deadline day for the Reds saw them finally land Isak for a British-record fee of £125 million ($255 million), securing the Swede's services after an initial approach was rejected by Newcastle earlier in the window.
"In football, there's always criticism. Sometimes people cheer for you. After he won the League Cup, everyone was really happy with him. In other moments, you get criticised," Slot said when discussing Isak.
"Now he's a player for us, and I'm really happy with that."
Slot, however, noted that Isak will have to be eased into action for Liverpool, as the Swede missed the pre-season and the beginning of the Premier League campaign.
"The Swedish manager [Jon Dahl Tomasson] deserves a big, big compliment because he gets maybe the best striker in the world, and he needs to play two very important games for his country but understands that if he would play him twice for 90 minutes, then the player would be injured for multiple weeks and that is not always easy for a manager that he takes care of the interest of a player," Slot added.
"We will treat Alex the same as they did, so don't expect him to be [playing] every single game 90 minutes on the pitch, as that is definitely not going to happen in the upcoming weeks."
Having conceded a deflating last-gasp winner against Manchester United before the international break, Burnley will be hoping it can preserve its unbeaten league run at Turf Moor come Monday (AEST), a record that stretches back to May 2024, when it lost 4-0 to Newcastle.
Since the Clarets last played, Benfica midfielder Florentino Luis has signed on the dotted line, becoming the club's 14th summer signing.
Discussing the set-up at Burnley, midfielder Josh Laurent said: "You look in this building, if you were to come here for maybe a month, you'd see how hard these people work. That's not only on the pitch, but it's everyone around the place, the chef, the nutritionist, everyone. They're real grafters, and it creates a whole culture.
"We try our best and work hard too for them. At the end of the day, you've got a real club here, and it's the whole culture of this club and something I hope they're proud of, because I'm certainly proud to be here and be involved in it."
