'Not necessary to go on strike' - Liverpool boss Arne Slot aims veiled dig at Newcastle as he addresses potential concerns in Alexander Isak's acrimonious £125m exit

Sweden international Isak made it clear he did not want to play for Newcastle again, such was his determination to join Liverpool this summer, missing the Magpies' opening three Premier League fixtures in a fiery chain of events which drew criticism from some quarters.

However Slot has leapt to the defence of Isak, insisting the same situation would not arise at Liverpool because the club would sell any player who asked to leave. The Merseysiders sanctioned a number of exits in the summer transfer window, with Luis Diaz moving to Bayern Munich while Harvey Elliott joined Aston Villa.

When asked if Isak's decision to go on strike reflected poorly on him, Slot said: "No, not at all. I just look at the club. It’s not necessary at our club, because we also trade players. If a player wants to leave and we get the right money for him, this club has shown so many years now that we then sell.

"You can just keep on training here – Lucho [Luis Díaz] and Harvey [Elliott] get their transfers, Tyler Morton gets his transfer, all these players, I can come up with eight, nine, 10 I think in the last window, that just conduct themselves in the best possible way."

Isak collected his first minutes of the 2025-26 season when he came off the bench in Sweden's World Cup qualifier against Kosovo on Monday. The former Borussia Dortmund striker made an 18-minute cameo as his side slipped to a surprise 2-0 defeat on the road.

Isak is in line to make his eagerly-awaited debut when Liverpool return to Premier League action against Burnley on Sunday. Slot's side will then get their Champions League campaign under way when they play host to Atletico Madrid at Anfield on September 17.