Arne Slot begins Liverpool pre-season with just EIGHT players in training

It’s a big day for Arne Slot as he meets some of his new Liverpool squad for the first time as pre-season gets underway.

The Reds’ new head coach will be holding his first press conference on Friday since being confirmed as Jurgen Klopp ’s successor in May. It also marks his first meeting with some of his new players.

The club has confirmed eight of the Reds’ stars will be making their return to the AXA Training Centre today, with the players arriving in two groups of four as preparations for the 2024/25 season get underway.

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Stefan Bajcetic , Conor Bradley , Jarell Quansah and Sepp van den Berg will be in the first group beginning in the morning. Owen Beck, Curtis Jones , Caoimhin Kelleher and Kostas Tsimikas will be in the second group arriving after midday.

The majority of Liverpool’s squad will return for training at a later date, with 11 players still involved at either Euro 2024 or Copa America.

Trent Alexander-Arnold , Joe Gomez , Diogo Jota , Virgil van Dijk , Cody Gakpo , Ryan Gravenberch and Ibrahima Konate will be representing their respective countries in the quarter-finals in Germany this weekend. Meanwhile, Alexis Mac Allister , Luis Diaz , Darwin Nunez and Alisson Becker are all in action Stateside.

One of Nunez or Alisson will be heading home this weekend, with Uruguay facing Brazil in the Copa America quarter-finals. Meanwhile, Jota and Konate will go head-to-head when Portugal faces France tonight.

Liverpool’s other international players, including Mohamed Salah , Dominik Szoboszlai and Andy Robertson , will be given a longer break before returning for training.

Liverpool.com says: A quiet start for Slot then on his first day at training with just a handful of players making their way back to Kirkby. Nevertheless, he could be set for some important discussions today.

Kelleher has already indicated he will be speaking to his new head coach about his future , with the Irishman holding ambitions of becoming a number one, which may lead to him moving on this summer. He’s not the only one who could be on the move, with Van den Berg having made his intentions clear to leave the Reds . That group of eight may become a lot smaller before the end of the summer.