Liverpool’s 2022/23 pre-season got underway on Monday as the first members of Jurgen Klopp’s squad reported back to the AXA Training Centre. Assessed by the club's medical staff throughout the day, the Reds were put through a number of physical tests in the club’s gym.
The likes of Luis Diaz, Jordan Henderson and summer signings Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsay were among the 19-man contingent the club confirmed over the weekend would report back for day one of pre-season.
And as the Liverpool squad got to work in the gym, here’s what we noticed at Kirkby.
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New faces
Darwin Nunez isn’t back at the AXA Training Centre just yet, having been on international duty for Uruguay last month, but Carvalho and Ramsay were both settling in in their new surroundings following their summer moves to Liverpool.
And for the former, he had a familiar face in particular to welcome him to the club as he was reunited with Harvey Elliott, having come through the youth set-up at Fulham together. The duo were pictured in conversation together on the exercise bikes as they worked up a sweat.
Meanwhile, Ramsay was pictured next to Diaz on the bikes. Unless the Colombian has been working hard on his English lessons over the summer months, the young Scot might not be getting much conversation out of him there! Truth be told even if he has, the Aberdeen accent might be a little bit beyond the winger for now.
Exit hint?
With the Liverpool squad in their new Nike training attire, their respective kits all had their own numbers on it. This included Elliott’s new squad number of 19, after the England Under-21s international traded in his original number 67 last week.
However, two players, who both returned from loan stints away did not have their own shirt numbers on their kits as they got to work - Nat Phillips and Ben Davies.
Phillips was pictured alongside Caoimhin Kelleher with them both wearing number 62, the Irishman’s squad number, as opposed to the centre-back’s traditional 47. Meanwhile, despite being handed the 24 shirt after Carvalho took his number 28, Davies was wearing a kit with the number 64 on.
Considering both players are tipped for summer exits, perhaps the lack of their own numbers in contrast to their team-mates suggest they are still in line to depart before the start of the season.
Pep Lijnders gets his wish
Back in January, Pep Lijnders name-dropped Bobby Clark, Stefan Bajcetic and Luke Chambers as three of Liverpool’s younger players who he hoped would be with the first team for pre-season. Well it appears the Dutchman has been granted his wish for one of the trio at least.
Despite helping England Under-19s beat Israel to win the European Championships on Friday, Chambers was pictured on the treadmill as he also underwent physical tests at the AXA Training Centre. Meanwhile, he wasn’t the only younger player involved despite not being named on the Reds’ 19-man returning squad list with Kaide Gordon also pictured after missing the end of last season.
Meanwhile, despite being named on that 19-man list over the summer, Roberto Firmino, Thiago Alcantara, Ibrahima Konate, Neco Williams, Rhys Williams and Sepp van den Berg weren’t pictured in the images released from training on Monday.
New look for Diaz
Diaz was sporting a new look for pre-season training, with the Colombian boasting blonde frosted tips upon his return to Kirkby.
While not quite the bleached blonde on show from Robbie Fowler in the 90s, it was still a noticeable difference from the winger’s look as the Reds chased the unprecedented quadruple last season.
However, the Colombian was smiling throughout, following on from manager Jurgen Klopp ’s claims that he has never seen a player smile so much in training. Given the fact the players weren’t out on the pitches yet, it would appear Diaz and co. have been spared the James Milner-dominated lactate test. For now!
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