Your morning Liverpool digest on Thursday, July 7.
Four absent players, Jordan Henderson gesture and three other things spotted in Liverpool training
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Lijnders continued to put the Liverpool squad through the dreaded activities of pre-season as the intensity level was cranked up on day three at the AXA Training Centre ahead of preparations for the Premier League new season.
Given the number of international stars in the Reds' squad, it has been a staggered start to pre-season with those who had international commitments in the immediate days after the Champions League final in Pairs handed extra days off. Which has meant that only half of the senior squad is currently back in training.
On Tuesday, despite not receiving a call-up to Brazil's squad over the summer, Roberto Firmino made the return to Merseyside, while Monday saw Calvin Ramsay and Fabio Carvalho complete their first days as Liverpool players.
Here's what day three had to offer.
There was no sign of Joe Gomez during Wednesday's training session, but his absence shouldn't be feared given the intense schedule the Liverpool players are currently adhering to during their first sessions back. The defender was fully involved in both Monday and Tuesday's sessions and will be expected to continue his preparations for the new season later this week.
To read the full story, click here.
Liverpool dealt overlooked Darwin Nunez realisation as Diogo Jota truth laid bare
In the last 12 months, the composition of Jurgen Klopp’s first-choice front three has changed a couple of times and will now shift once again. The established trio of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah were still the regular picks in 2020/21, starting 29 of Liverpool’s 53 matches together.
Yet when last season began at Carrow Road, Klopp opted for Diogo Jota in place of the Brazilian. He, Mane and Salah formed an effective front line, both that day and across the whole campaign. They started 22 matches together – comfortably the most of any combination – and the Reds scored an average of 2.5 goals in those games compared to 2.3 in their other 41 fixtures.
Yet despite their dominance, by the end of the season Jota had been superseded by Luis Diaz. The Colombian started with Mo and Sadio in all three of Liverpool’s cup finals, as well as semi-final matches against Manchester City and Villarreal.
But with Mane’s departure to Bayern Munich, that combination and all regular front threes at the club are no more. While Darwin Nunez will obviously feature in 2022/23, it’s not yet clear how quickly he will become a regular starter.
Andrew Beasley has more, here.
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