With many of Liverpool’s big-name stars enjoying a well-deserved break after their exploits at the World Cup, opportunity knocks for others.
It is the start of a new era after Andoni Iraola replaced sacked Arne Slot as head coach, so everyone has a point to prove, from established stars to rising ones.
The Basque boss takes his new team Stateside for a three-leg tour that involves games in Nashville (against Sunderland), New York City (Wrexham) and Chicago (Leeds United).
And with the big boys yet to join up with the squad, there are some lesser-known names ready to steal a march and impress the new regime.
Andoni Iraola is running the rule over his new Liverpool charges as they head off for their pre-season tour of the USA
Rio Ngumoha was on the periphery this time last season but used pre-season to burst into Arne Slot’s first-team plans
Can players really force their way into plans based on friendlies?
That is the question for emerging talents like Joshua Abe, Trey Nyoni and Will Wright this fortnight – and they might do well to look at the seismic leaps taken by exciting prospects on previous pre-season tours.
Twelve months ago, Rio Ngumoha was on the periphery of the first team with just one FA Cup appearance under his belt. Now, the 17-year-old is a fully-fledged member of the squad and arguably in Iraola’s best XI. It was in games in Hong Kong and Japan last summer that the former Chelsea sensation showed why he was ready to be part of Slot’s senior plans.
Two years ago, Ryan Gravenberch was a squad player who had failed to make a lasting impression in his first year at the club – but was impressive on tour and went on to be named Premier League young player of the season.
Three years ago, Jarell Quansah had just returned from a loan at Bristol Rovers and was on the tour of Singapore, to make up the numbers as much as anything else. His attitude and application impressed and surprised Jurgen Klopp, Quansah stepped up and after a £30million move to Bayer Leverkusen is now an England and Champions League regular.
It has been a quiet transfer window so far for Liverpool with just one new arrival in wide man Victor Munoz from Osasuna, who won the World Cup as a squad player for Spain. It means there are several holes in the squad that need filling – especially with Mo Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate all leaving on a free transfer at the end of their contracts.
So, yes, there is every chance these youngsters can be part of Iraola’s plans…
Who should fans be most excited to see?
The most exciting name is 16-year-old Abe.
As Daily Mail Sport revealed last season, this lad is the hot property in English academy football. Arsenal, the club his father supports, were keen. Manchester City were keeping tabs on him and Chelsea were ready to ‘throw a grenade’ to hit back at Liverpool for poaching their best young talent in Ngumoha.
Exciting winger Joshua Abe joined Liverpool at the age of four and trained with Arne Slot’s first team last season
Abe only turned 16 last week but is a highly rated prospect who has attracted interest from other top clubs
Victor Munoz (No25), Liverpool’s only summer signing so far, has just won the World Cup with Spain
The youngster, who is represented by the brother of Trent Alexander-Arnold and his agency Gersh, was also taken on a tour of Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu.
Liverpool academy staffers would have been right to worry that, two years after being lauded for tempting Ngumoha northbound, Abe was potentially going to do the opposite and leave – but they persuaded him and his family to stay. Academy insiders believe that could be a genius move.
Abe is a supremely gifted youngster who can play in multiple positions and this tour will be fans’ first real glimpse of what he can do, if he is trusted for some minutes here and there.
Caution must be advised: he turned 16 last week. But Ngumoha stepped up in the last 18 months, and Max Dowman at Arsenal did not let the hype get in his way, so maybe Abe could be the next cab off the rank…
Can any midfielders fill the void there?
Trey Nyoni is often overlooked because of the seismic steps taken by his good mate Ngumoha in recent months. The 19-year-old midfielder is a gifted talent who probably deserved more minutes than he got last season, especially noting the significant dips in form of Alexis Mac Allister and Gravenberch.
Signed from Leicester in 2023, Nyoni may be diminutive but he is always showing for the ball, comfortable on the half-turn and is a midfield dictator who can play as a No 6, 8 or 10.
When watching the Under 19s in the UEFA Youth League last term, Nyoni was often head and shoulders above his contemporaries. He should hope for a more regular first-team role this term, with plenty of clubs sniffing around a potential loan deal.
Another midfielder that will be given chances is James McConnell. Slot liked him a lot and told him he could be a first-team regular in the near future, though his progress was stalled last season after a loan at Ajax was cut short.
He is rated highly internally though another temporary move is very possible this summer. There was a long list of suitors last term before he followed ex-coach John Heitinga to Amsterdam. It started well for him there but a change of manager and injuries halted his rise.
Trey Nyoni is a gifted talent who probably deserved more minutes than he got last season
Jurgen Klopp once said James McConnell (centre) was ‘absolutely insane’ in training and Slot said he would ‘absolutely not’ sanction a loan in early 2025 given his talents
McConnell – like Nyoni – could do with bulking up a bit but is assured in possession. Klopp once said he was ‘absolutely insane’ in training and Slot said he would ‘absolutely not’ sanction a loan in early 2025 given his talents.
With Mac Allister not expected back anytime soon, Gravenberch absent for the first leg of the tour at least and Wataru Endo injured, there will be chances for those young midfielders to impress.
And don’t forget Stefan Bajcetic. A breakout star under Klopp way back in 2022-23, to say the Spaniard has had a horror time with injuries would be a gross understatement. There is still hope for him if his body lets him, and he’s still only 21.
Anyone to fill the gaps up front and at the back?
Hugo Ekitike is a long-term absentee with his ruptured achilles, while Alexander Isak is not with the squad just yet and missed the majority of last season. So, inevitably, Liverpool could do with another No 9. There are a couple ready to make a pitch to be part of Iraola’s first-team plans.
Wright was signed this time last year from Salford and has impressed academy boss Rob Page when playing for the Under 21s. He knows where the goal is and is a bit of an old-fashioned centre forward. His youth team pal Josh Sonni-Lambie is also talented and fits the mould of a Liverpool striker, with a creative edge as well as solid goalscoring numbers. Jayden Danns, like Bajcetic, has been plagued by injury and is not in the touring party.
At the other end of the pitch, Liverpool have an issue in defence. Virgil van Dijk is now 35, Joe Gomez is injury prone and the other two senior centre backs are, well, not senior. New signing Jeremy Jacquet and last summer’s buy Giovanni Leoni have zero Premier League minutes between them, but Liverpool believe they are two of the best young defenders in the game.
Former Parma man Leoni is still recovering from the serious knee injury he suffered on debut last season, which could create an opening for Mor Talla Ndiaye later in the campaign. It would appear the Senegal defender, who signed from Amitie FC in January, had poked ahead of Amara Nallo in the pecking order by the end of last season – though Iraola will make his own judgments.
Young Austrian defender Ifeanyi Ndukwe is going on the tour, with Ndiaye potentially joining up later in the trip.
Will Wright knows where the goal is and is a bit of an old-fashioned centre forward
Jeremy Jacquet, who signed from Rennes for £60m in January, will be one that fans are gasping to see play
There are also high hopes for Giovanni Leoni, though he is still recovering from the serious knee injury he suffered on debut last season
It’s not just youngsters ready to impress
Harvey Elliott’s short-term aim is to prove to Iraola he should be given another chance at Anfield after a disastrous loan to Aston Villa last season. He is energetic, versatile and eager to learn – values the new boss might desire. Failing that, this is a chance for Elliott to get in the shop window.
Fellow midfielder Curtis Jones has had intense interest from Italian champions Inter Milan – Liverpool have rebuffed several moves and value him at around £35m – but Iraola publicly said he wants the academy graduate to stay.
Federico Chiesa never won the trust of former boss Slot, Jeremie Frimpong was in and out of form and fitness last term and, with Alisson missing for now at least, No 2 Giorgi Mamardashvili can show why he can be the long-term successor to the Brazil goalkeeper.
Returning loanee Kostas Tsimikas also has a chance to impress while young full backs Luke Chambers and Calvin Ramsay might also get some game time.
Jacquet, who signed from Rennes for £60m in January, will be one that fans are gasping to see play. With Konate now at Real Madrid and Van Dijk absent for the start of the tour, the young Frenchman has a huge chance to cement his place in the starting XI.
Initial Liverpool squad for USA tour: Gomez, Endo, Jacquet, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Bradley, Chiesa, Leoni, Jones, Elliott, Tsimikas, Ekitike, Mamardashvili, Woodman, Frimpong, Abe, Nyoni, Bajcetic, Chambers, Ramsay, Scanlon, McConnell, Jaros, Koumas, Morrison, Ngumoha, W Wright, Hall, Sonni-Lambie, Ndukwe, Davies.
