Alexander Isak has taken part in his first training session with Liverpool since sealing a British record £125million move to Merseyside last week.
Having been included in Sweden’s squad for their World Cup Qualifiers against Slovenia and Kosovo, the 25-year-old linked up with his new team-mates on Wednesday.
And Isak appeared in great spirits at Liverpool’s Melwood training ground this morning as he was pictured beaming with a huge grin in the club’s new Adidas gear.
It remains to be seen whether Arne Slot‘s new No 9, who netted an impressive 23 Premier League goals last term, will be fit enough to start at Turf Moor against Burnley on Sunday after missing out on a pre-season.
He was nevertheless deemed in good enough condition to feature off the bench for his national side as they suffered a humiliating 2-0 loss against 10-man Kosovo on Monday.
With Sweden already two goals down, Isak was introduced with 20 minutes to go in a desperate bid to get his side back in the game.
Alexander Isak has taken part in his first training session with Liverpool since sealing his British record transfer to the club
The Swede appeared in great spirits at Melwood after jetting in from Sweden this week
It remains unclear whether Isak will be deemed fit enough to feature against Burnley at the weekend
The former Real Sociedad man was however unable to help Sweden pull off a comeback as he, Viktor Gyokeres and co suffered a loss which now leaves them in danger of missing out on next summer’s World Cup in USA, Mexico and Canada.
Having failed to win either of their opening two qualifiers, Sweden sit five points adrift of group leaders Switzerland and two points behind Kosovo in their qualifying group in a predicament which left tensions amongst some Swedish supporters boiling over on Monday.
A number of the players were subjected to vile death threats on social media post-match, which the Swedish FA say ‘crossed the line’. A number of comments have been reported to the police.
A statement released by the FA’s head of security Martin Fredman read: ‘We have a routine based on how we should work when we know or suspect that our social media will be burdened with comments that in various ways cross the line.
‘When scanning through our own channels and some of the players’, we found comments that were far over the limit.
‘We’re proceeding with about ten which we think are crimes. It is up to the police and prosecutors to make sure that it holds up to their preliminary investigation.’
Isak’s transfer saga over the summer was one which drew on for weeks and captured the attention of football fans across the country.
After reporting an injury to avoid Newcastle’s pre-season tour of Asia, the wantaway forward ultimately ended up on strike in a bid to force a move to the Premier League champions.
Isak featured for Sweden in their embarrassing 2-0 loss to Kosovo on Monday evening
The defeat left Sweden in danger of missing out on next summer’s World Cup after failing to win either of their opening two qualifying fixtures
The 25-year-old reflected on his transfer saga for the first time in a post-match interview post-match
It was a move which left him open to widespread criticism, particularly from Newcastle supporters, with the Magpies eventually confirming his exit with a blunt 37-word statement – a damningly short goodbye for a player who had been a talesman on Tyneside.
Following the loss to Kosovo, Isak spoke to reporters for the first time about his efforts to force a move to Liverpool.
‘Not everyone has the full picture, but that’s something for another day,’ Isak told Swedish media.
‘I can’t control everything that’s said or written. But I’m happy that I became a Liverpool player.’
He continued: ‘It’s great that everything was settled before the camp and that I could focus on playing football again.
‘It’s been a fairly new situation for me, but you always learn and develop mentally off the pitch as well.’
After having a bid worth around £110million rejected in early August, the Reds ultimately secured the Swede’s services with a fee of £125m ahead of Deadline Day.
