As Liverpool touches down on American soil, Arne Slot will surely be aware that not all of his traveling party will be available to him at the start of the new season .
The Reds have made their way to the United States for their first pre-season tour under their new boss, only there are some very notable absentees. 11 senior players are missing following a busy international summer, leaving a very young group for Slot to lead for the time being .
Liverpool’s 28-man squad will take in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and South Carolina as they face Real Betis, Arsenal and Manchester United in preparation for kick-off against Ipswich on August 17. Of those 28 players though, there are more than a few whose futures could lie away from Anfield , over the next year at least.
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Nat Phillips was something of a surprise inclusion in the traveling party. He does offer a senior option at center-back, with Jarell Quansah and Sepp van den Berg the only other choices at the moment, but most had expected the 27-year-old to move on this summer.
His inclusion for the tour suggests a transfer isn’t imminent, but once Virgil van Dijk , Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez return, Phillips will inevitably fall down the pecking order again. Football Insider has recently suggested Liverpool will accept offers for the defender, having reportedly turned down offers that didn’t meet their valuation earlier this summer .
Speaking of defenders, Van den Berg has made his feelings pretty clear already – he wants to leave . Slot though appears to have other ideas, and seemingly wants to take a closer look at him.
The 22-year-old has the chance to stake his claim with the other senior options missing, or at the very least put himself in the shop window more prominently. Either way, this could be a make or break tour for him.
Another player who may have his sights set elsewhere is Caoimhin Kelleher . The goalkeeper has certainly not been as forthright as Van den Berg, but he has hinted that he could look to move on in order to become first-choice .
You certainly couldn’t begrudge him that opportunity, given how well he has performed when deputizing for Alisson Becker. Links have noticeably dried up though since Celtic signed Kasper Schmeichel, and we’ll have to wait and see whether Kelleher does see his future elsewhere, or whether he’s happy to continue as Liverpool’s No.2.
There will inevitably be eyes on Mohamed Salah in the US, with the Egyptian now in the final year of his contract and with interest from Saudi Arabia never too far away. Liverpool has seemingly decided he won’t be going anywhere though, and it’s another of his teammates that could be drawing even more attention on tour.
Tyler Morton has certainly earned his chance after impressing in loan spells with Blackburn Rovers and Hull City over the last couple of years. That progress hasn’t gone unnoticed around Europe either , and according to The Times earlier this summer, some big names are in the mix for the young midfielder.
RB Leipzig is perhaps the biggest of those touted, while Sevilla, Feyenoord and Eintracht Frankfurt have been credited with interest, along with some unnamed Premier League clubs. Priced at around $25m (£20m/€24m), Morton could be a nice little earner for the Reds should they decide his future lies elsewhere.
There could be more departures on loan as well. James McConnell has already been linked with temporary moves to Hull and Derby County , and while the likes of Ben Doak , Kaide Gordon and Lewis Koumas haven’t seen their names crop up much in this summer’s speculation, gaining some regular game time elsewhere could be the next best step for their careers.
Slot will no doubt have some decision to make once he’s seen more of his players in action over the next couple of weeks. For at least one or two players, this might be their last tour with the Reds.
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