Josh Abe, the 15-year-old right winger, was among the U21s players called up to Liverpool’s session on the outdoor pitch at the AXA Training Centre on Thursday.
Liverpool stepped up their pre-season training on Thursday with ball work and small-sided games, with Andoni Iraola and his staff watching on.
With only 15 senior players fit and available, including three goalkeepers, the rest of the squad was made up of youngsters brought in from the academy.
Abe was chief among those, with the teenager already expected to travel with Iraola’s squad for their tour of the United States next week.
Revealed: 12 Liverpool youngsters spotted in first-team training
Liverpool centre-back Ifeanyi Ndukwe completes his transfer from Austria Vienna. Credit: @as1sports (IG)
New signing Ifeanyi Ndukwe, a 6’6″ centre-back who arrived from Austria Vienna earlier this month, was another of those called up.
Ndukwe was joined by goalkeeper Harvey Davies, fellow centre-back Mor Talla Ndiaye, full-backs Calvin Ramsay and Calum Scanlon, midfielder Tommy Pilling and U21s captain Kieran Morrison.
With only two first-team forwards currently available – Federico Chiesa and Rio Ngumoha – Iraola also drafted in Lewis Koumas, Will Wright, Keyrol Figueroa and Josh Sonni-Lambie alongside Abe.
KIRKBY, ENGLAND - Thursday, May 14, 2026: Liverpool's head coach Andoni Iraola poses for an official photocall ahead of his first press conference at the AXA Training Centre. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Though their involvement comes out of necessity, Iraola has been both vocal and visible in his appreciation of Liverpool’s youngsters since being appointed head coach.
As the World Cup plays out this summer, the Spaniard has taken the opportunity to assess those working in the academy as well as those who returned from loan spells this summer.
It has allowed him to gain further insight into the wider pool of talent available to him, with Iraola making clear in his first press conference that he values Liverpool’s youth ranks.
“I think there is a chance to use more players also because it’s impossible to deal with this kind of season with 13, 14, 15 players, you need all the squad,” he told reporters on Monday.
“And there are positives on this, but also we have to get ready because in this kind of hard season, a lot of games, injuries will happen, situations will happen.
“So, we have to get ready in terms of squad depth so we can deal with the demands of the competition and we can go through those months.
“Especially here in England, December, January, February, you know those months are really hard and we have to arrive to those months in a situation where we can deal with them.”