Pre-season is back, and with it comes the first proper look at Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool. New voices, new ideas, same demand. The club head to the United States for a three-match summer tour that will offer the first clues about how this new side might take shape before the serious business begins.
Liverpool have named a 31-man squad for the trip, although the reality is a little leaner. A number of players are still working their way back through rehabilitation, while others remain absent after World Cup duty. That leaves Iraola with a more modest working group for the opening leg of preparations, before senior figures filter back in over the coming days.
The tour itself takes in three fixtures across three states, with matches against Sunderland, Wrexham and Leeds United. It is a decent spread of opposition for this stage of the summer, varied enough to test rhythm, fitness and organisation, which is what these trips are really about. Results matter less than sharpness, structure and seeing whether early messages are being absorbed.
For supporters, the intrigue lies in the details. How quickly can Liverpool adapt to Iraola’s methods? Which younger players can seize the chance while established names are unavailable? Pre-season often carries a false sense of importance, but it does reveal the mood of a camp, and right now this one feels like a reset.
Once the American leg is done, the squad will return to Merseyside in early August, by which time the group should look fuller and closer to full strength.
Elsewhere, the academy is on the move too. Liverpool’s U21s and U18s are spending a week in Slovenia, with both sides due to finish the camp with friendlies against NK Celje on Sunday. U18s head coach Simon Wiles said: “It’s been really good and we’ve had a really good two weeks so far.
“I missed virtually all of pre-season before arriving last year so it has been really good getting to know the first-years who have come into our squad this season.
“They are starting their scholarship with us and it has been nice to see the mix between them and the second years we still have with us in the U18s. They are all raring to go so it’s going to be an exciting pre-season and hopefully a good season ahead.”
The U15s are also in Japan for a double-header against a J-League XI on July 24 and July 26. From the first team to the youngest prospects, Liverpool’s summer is under way, and the work has already started.