Arne Slot is a man under pressure at the moment with very little going right for him at Liverpool. Despite winning the Premier League title last term, this season has been a struggle to date, with the club losing five of their 11 top-flight fixtures so far.
The latest came on Sunday afternoon when the Reds fell to a one-sided 3-0 defeat against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez and Jeremy Doku inspired Pep Guardiola's side to victory on an afternoon when Liverpool didn't get started until it was too late.
Hugo Ekitike started the game in attack for Slot's side but cut an isolated figure against Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol, meaning that the Liverpool boss had to look to his bench for an alternative game plan in order to land a punch on Man City.
But while Cody Gakpo and Federico Chiesa came off the bench in the second half, there was a notable figure who remained as an unused sub at the Etihad, even when Liverpool were desperate for a goal.
Arne Slot Will Be Livid At Alexander Isak Situation
liverpool alexander isak
When Liverpool were desperate for a goal, Alexander Isak was nowhere in sight. FSG recruited the Swedish striker, who signed a £300,000 a week contract after joining the Reds for £125million over the summer, has rarely featured since joining from Newcastle United.
A tally of 62 goals in 109 appearances for the Magpies suggested that Liverpool were getting a ready-made goalscorer in their ranks, but after a summer of protests and minimal training, Isak has had to endure an uphill battle to get himself match-ready.
So far this term, Isak has scored just one goal in eight games, playing just 429 minutes in the process, which equates to just 53.6minutes per appearance.
The 26-year-old hasn't appeared since October 22nd against Frankfurt in the Champions League, but suffered an injury in that game that has ruled him out for the four games since.
Of course there's nothing that can be done about injuries, but Slot will surely be cursing that his £125m striker was not in the right condition to come off the bench when Liverpool desperately needed a goal in a crunch clash with their biggest divisional rivals.
Slot is feeling the heat at the moment and as a result, his job at Liverpool could come under pressure before long if things don't improve. As a result, the Dutchman will surely be praying that a striker with the quality of Isak can get himself fit once and for all in order to help the team when they need it most.
However, given that it's already November and Isak is no closer to being able to complete 90 minutes, then Slot surely has moe than enough reason to be frustrated at how this particular transfer - a signing that was the saga of the summer - has so far played out.