A new era is about to kick off at Liverpool, and a few familiar faces are already getting an early start.
While the World Cup is wrapping up over in the US, things are starting to move at the AXA Training Centre. Three Reds stars who have had a tough time with injuries are already back on the pitches in Kirkby, looking to impress the new boss, Andoni Iraola.
### The early birds
Wataru Endo (Japan, 33) is desperate to get going. The midfielder had his season cut short against Sunderland in February and, heartbreakingly, had to pull out of the World Cup at the very last second. With just one year left on his Liverpool contract, he wants to prove he belongs in the starting lineup.
Joining him are two young players who have missed a lot of football. Giovanni Leoni (Italy, 19) is basically looking for a fresh start after tearing his ACL last September in his very first game for the club.
Then there is Stefan Bajcetic (Spain, 21). The youngster has struggled with painful growth and fitness issues for almost two years now. Getting both of these lads through pre-season without any setbacks is a massive priority for the medical team.
### A fresh start under Iraola
Boss Andoni Iraola will officially meet his squad in about a week. Big names like Alexis Mac Allister (Argentina, 27) and Alisson Becker (Brazil, 33) are still away at the World Cup, but the manager will still have plenty of talent to work with from day one.
New £60 million defender Jeremy Jacquet (France, 20) will be there from the start. He will be joined by Dominik Szoboszlai (Hungary, 25) and Milos Kerkez (Hungary, 22), who didn’t go to the World Cup, as well as Jeremie Frimpong (Netherlands, 25), who was left out of the Dutch squad.
Another new signing, Victor Munoz (Spain, 22), is still with the Spain squad but hasn’t played yet due to a minor injury.
Iraola is excited to see what he has to work with, making it clear that everyone starts with a clean slate:
“For me, it’s much easier to continue in the Premier League in terms of knowing the squad,” Iraola said. “We’ve analyzed Liverpool a lot — possible weaknesses, the strengths. I think we have a very good squad.
“I think there is still work to do, like normally in every club in this moment of the season. But right now, for me the thing is to value especially the players that we have right now in the squad.
“For me, and I will tell them, \[they\] are all new signings. For me, you are all new signings and I think we have a lot of quality in our squad, and \[I’m\] really looking forward to working with them.”
This is exactly what pre-season is all about. While all eyes are on the business end of the World Cup, the early work being put in by Wataru Endo, Giovanni Leoni, and Stefan Bajcetic at the AXA Training Centre could prove absolutely pivotal for Liverpool’s upcoming campaign.
For Andoni Iraola, having these three back on the grass in Kirkby a week before the rest of the non-international squad reports is an unexpected bonus. It gives the new boss an immediate, up-close look at the depth he has at his disposal, especially in positions where the Reds have looked thin or suffered from terrible luck over the last 12 months.
Iraola’s stance that every player is a new signing is the perfect psychological play. It removes any lingering baggage from the previous era and challenges the squad to impress him from zero.
With heavyweights like Alexis Mac Allister and Alisson Becker still away on international duty, the opening fortnight of pre-season belongs to the fringe players, the youth, and the returning injury list. If this trio can hit the ground running alongside day-one arrivals like Jacquet, Szoboszlai, and Kerkez, Liverpool will fly out to their United States tour with a much healthier, hungrier foundation than anyone expected.