How will Liverpool cope without Alexander Isak?

Arne Slot has faced one challenge after another this season. LiverpoolMohamed Salah’s terrible streak of nine defeats in 12 matches Leeds.

How Slot will do business without Alexander Isak is the next big question.

The Swede has hardly had a flying start to life at Anfield since his £125m move from Newcastle in the summer, but the movement and finish of his goal against Tottenham on Saturday showed exactly why Liverpool signed him.

“You have to be at the top of your game to impact a game. And it took us months to get him up. We always knew it would take time. That’s why it’s so unfortunate that he’s injured now,” said Slot.

“We all saw him getting closer and closer to the player he was at Newcastle last season.”

Slot said it was a “long injury” and that Isak would be out for “a few months”, which was probably the best-case scenario for Liverpool. The date when Isak can play football again will most likely be March.

It is not yet known whether Liverpool, which offers expensive solutions to short-term problems that are not part of the club model, will make a move for another attacking player in January.

While Hugo Ekitike was successful in the league this season by scoring eight goals, Slot said that the 23-year-old player “has already adapted to the Premier League”.

Asked if it was possible that Harvey Elliott, who has not played since October, could be recalled from Aston Villa, Slot said: “Harvey is an Aston Villa player and he needs to go there for a year. If the question is about him then the best thing to ask is Villa, they are pretty good too.”

Isak has made just 10 appearances since signing for Liverpool, but with him now out of contention and Salah out of action at the Africa Cup of Nations, Slot could be forced into a tactical restructure to cope with the Swede’s absence.