Alexander Isak has spoken candidly about his fitness levels since becoming Liverpool’s record signing at the end of the summer transfer window.The Swedish striker sought to force a move away from Newcastle by opting out of the Magpies’ pre-season plans, and he eventually got his wish on deadline day, but he arrived on Merseyside lacking in match sharpness.The 26-year-old has netted just once in his first eight matches for the Reds and suffered another setback when he went off with a groin injury in the 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt last month, which remains his most recent appearance for his club.Isak makes candid fitness admissionIsak came off the bench for the final 27 minutes of Sweden’s 4-1 defeat to Switzerland on Saturday night, and speaking after that game, he confessed that he hasn’t been at 100% in recent weeks.The Liverpool striker said of his fitness (via Sportbladet): “It hasn’t been optimal, but when I’m on the field, I don’t give myself any excuses. I always want to play my game and perform, but yes, it’s hard to be away and not be able to help and contribute. Now I’m back and I’m positive.“There’s not much that’s easy in football, but with experience you learn to deal with things. That’s how it is with injuries and all that. You learn to deal with it and get back on track the right way.”Isak added that his body felt ‘good’ after his substitute outing last night and he hopes to ‘play properly’ against Slovenia on Tuesday, with national team coach Graham Potter having sent out somewhat mixed signals prior to the Switzerland game.(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)Slot needs to find a way to get Isak on the pitch regularlyThe 26-year-old will have wanted to swiftly repay the £125m transfer fee that Liverpool invested in him, but fitness issues have curtailed his involvement thus far, and it’s been evident in his outings so far that his sharpness is some way off the levels he showed at Newcastle last season.Reds fans might be conflicted on whether or not they want him to be involved in Sweden’s match against Slovenia. There’s nothing riding on it for either country, but the striker needs the minutes on the pitch after playing so little football over the past few months.It’d be almost impossible for Arne Slot to omit Hugo Ekitike with the Frenchman playing so impressively, so that leaves the LFC head coach with a three-pronged dilemma?Does he leave out the 23-year-old to give Isak the game-time he clearly needs? Does he find a way to shoehorn both of them into his preferred formation and move one from his natural position? Does he change his setup in order to play with a centre-forward duo?The unforgiving fixture schedule (Liverpool still have nine matches to play before the end of 2025) should provide opportunities for both strikers to receive plenty of minutes, so long as they can avoid further injury setbacks.The former Newcastle man will be particularly desperate to get out on the pitch and give his season a belated lift-off after an evidently frustrating autumn for him.You can watch Slot’s full post-Man City press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:The post Alexander Isak makes candid fitness admission after sub appearance in emphatic Sweden defeat appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.