New Signings, Old Faces & Young Talents – Pre-Season Preview | OneFootball

New Signings, Old Faces & Young Talents – Pre-Season Preview

New signings, old faces and young talents will all be on show in Liverpool’s pre-season campaign, which kicks off with a game against Preston North End at Deepdale on Sunday, the 13th of July at 3pm. The Reds faced the Championship side in the 2024 pre-season tour and were defeated 1-0 behind closed doors, so they will be looking to overcome the Lancashire outfit this time around.

Just less than two weeks later, the Reds will be travelling to Hong Kong to face Italian giants AC Milan at the Kai Tak Sports Park on July 26th. The Rosoneri only managed 8th place in the Serie A last season under former Porto manager Sergio Conceica,o but have since appointed Massimiliano Allegri, who managed the side from 2010 to 2014.

4 days after facing Milan in Hong Kong, Liverpool will travel to Japan to face Yokohama F Marinos at the Nissan Stadium only July 30th. It’s then back to home soil for the Reds, who will face Athletic Bilbao twice on August 4th at 5pm and then again at 8pm at Anfield before heading down to London to face Crystal Palace in the Community Shield at Wembley.

Pre-season is a chance for managers to assess their squads and for players to return to fitness before the season begins. For Arne Slot, it’s a chance to see how his new signings will fit into the squad and how the up-and-coming youth players could play their part in Liverpool’s 2025/2026 campaign.

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New Signings

Of course, the eyes of the city will be on Florian Wirtz, who signed for an eye-watering £116 million, breaking the British transfer record of £115 million set by Chelsea on Moises Caicedo. Wirtz will be joined by his fellow Leverkusen invincible, Jeremie Frimpong, who was brought in to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold at right back. On the opposite side of the field, Milos Kerkez was brought in to become Andy Robertson’s successor after impressing at Bournemouth and will be looking to have the impact that the Scottish captain did in his prime at Liverpool.

Though he’s not a ‘new’ signing, Liverpool fans will get a first look at Giorgi Mamadashvili between the sticks after the Georgian returned to Valencia on loan after putting pen to paper with the Reds. The acquisition of Mamadashvili doesn’t bode well for new signing Armin Pecsi’s chances of getting any playing time in the first team this season, with a loan move or place in the Under-21s looking far more likely.

He may be linking up with a new signing off the pitch in former Wales manager, Rob Page, who replaces Barry Lewtas as Under-21s manager after 12 years at the club.

Another goalkeeper coming through the AXA Training Centre doors is Freddie Woodman, who joins from Preston North End on a free transfer after his contract expired. Woodman is expected to be a backup to Alisson and Mamadashvili, featuring sporadically.

Old Faces

Amid speculation that his future may be away from Anfield, Harvey Elliot was named Under-21s Euro Player of the Tournament. The 22-year-old has been urged to leave Liverpool by many, including prestigious journalist Henry Winter, who believes Elliot “needs” to leave Liverpool as he’s “too good to kick his heels on the bench.” After the international success, both Harvey Elliot and Tyler Morton have been given extra time off so will join the rest if team slightly later.

Another player whose future at Anfield is uncertain is Darwin Nunez. The Uruguayan wishes to continue playing in Europe, should he leave Liverpool, but the Reds are asking for a fee of around £70 million to recoup as much as they can from their £77 million expenditure on the striker. That kind of money may only come from Saudi Arabian suitors.

Mohamed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk will be looking to hit the ground running upon their return, with the superstars extending their Liverpool contracts at the back end of last season.

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Young Talents

One to watch this season is 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha, who featured against Accrington Stanley for the Reds in last season’s FA Cup after signing from Chelsea and became the youngest player to ever feature in the competition. He faces obvious competition for minutes with Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz already in a heated bout for the left-wing spot but could feature in Liverpool’s pre-season tour.

Another youngster who will be given the chance to impress is James McConnell. The young Georgie was told by Arne Slot that “he could be on par with Wataru Endo in terms of squad role.” It appears as though Slot has no interest in loaning the midfielder out and instead looks to integrate him into the first team. It would be no surprise should we see McConnell feature in the pre-season tour.

Final Words

With pre-season just around the corner and uncertainty around incoming and outgoing players, Liverpool’s business looks far from done. The Asian tour will be a good opportunity for Slot’s new boys to get used to the rest of the squad and the playing style which won Liverpool the 2024/2025 season. Furthermore, Slot will be able to assess his options in all areas of the pitch, especially with returning players like Stefan Bajcetic, Ben Doak and Owen Beck returning to the squad from loan. It should be an exciting pre-season for Liverpool fans with the rumour mill still in full swing.