Liverpool's Curtis Jones during the warm up before the match
Liverpool's pre-season is going well - but not without a few issues.
Andoni Iraola and FSG's decision-makers have more than a few creases to smooth out before the end of the transfer window, with Liverpool shorn of depth and still searching for a forward to replace Mohamed Salah on the right flank.
Bradley Barcola is the centre of attention right now, with Liverpool looking to close a £100m+ deal with Paris Saint-Germain for the forward - it would be a marquee arrival, but the Merseysiders still need another attacker who favours the other flank.
REUTERS/Vincent Carchietta
Moreover, Liverpool need to sort out a concerning situation in the middle of the park, with Curtis Jones' Liverpool career feared to be over.
Why Curtis Jones looks set to leave Liverpool
Here we are again, faced with the imminent departure of a boyhood Red. For Liverpool, the weight of selling Jones to Inter Milan for a £30m fee has a different feel to Trent Alexander-Arnold's contentious move to Real Madrid one year ago.
Jones' Liverpool career is in jeopardy. He has been linked with a move to Inter all summer, and an overt fallout with Dominik Szoboszlai and Kostas Tsimikas after Liverpool's 1-0 friendly win over Wrexham has made a comment on the tensions simmering for a player who has been frustrated with his role at the club for some time.
Serie A champions Inter has offered Jones a role in their team, and his slick, measured ability on the ball could see him emerge as a sensation in Italy. Jones' ball retention is second to none, but in that, he has a likeness to Bournemouth's Alex Scott, so is ostensibly perfect for Iraola-ball.
Then again, the 25-year-old's contract expires in one year, and Liverpool's recent history with letting superstars leave on Bosmans suggests that selling Jones might be better than losing him for free.
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Jones' Premier League Playing Time
Season
25/26
24/25
23/24
22/23
21/22
20/21
19/20
If Liverpool can't promise Jones the role that he wants at Anfield, selling him may be the right call, as bitter as it tastes. However, it should go without saying that parting ways without lining up a strong replacement in the middle of the park could leave Iraola's project tottering from the word go.
Liverpool make Bundesliga midfielder their top target
Jones isn't the only Liverpool midfielder mooted for a summer move. Alexis Mac Allister is also being linked away from the club after a shoddy year in the Premier League, very much at the epicentre of the collapse under Arne Slot.
If Mac Allister leaves, with suitors in Italy and Spain sniffing around, Liverpool need a first-class replacement.
Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister
Well, according to Fussball Daten over in Germany, Liverpool have made Mainz midfielder Kaishu Sano their top target this summer, who is among the Bundesliga club's most prized possessions.
With that in mind, it should be clear that he will not leave on the cheap, and Mainz have indeed priced the Japanese World Cup star at €60m (£51m), a fee the Reds would be willing to pay.
A number of clubs are in talks with representatives, and Liverpool are in club-to-club negotiations with Mainz as they look to strike a deal.
Sano is a natural-born athlete. The 25-year-old midfielder is progressive and combative and cultured on the ball. He is the complete package, winning the ball and exploding forward when given the chance. In the Bundesliga last year, he completed 67% of his dribbles and won 64% of his ground battles.
He also excelled at the World Cup. You might remember Brazil's showdown with Japan during the first knockout phase, bursting forward and scoring a wonder goal that ultimately failed to carry the Asian nation through to the last 16.
In any case, he has shown a level of completeness that might eclipse that of Jones, who has many tools in his locker, but perhaps fails to utilise them to the right standard, often too conservative on the ball, too laboured when sparking attacks.
The 25-year-old Japan sensation created six big chances and averaged six ball recoveries per league game last year, so definitely falls into a Jones-like mould that could see Iraola land the perfect replacement, should Inter prevail in their bid.
kaishu-sano-mainz
The Liverpool persuasion don't want to see Jones leave Anfield, but it is becoming increasingly clear that this will be the case for a midfielder who has never managed to cement a starring role at his boyhood club.
Sano, however, is stronger, quicker, and more mobile. He applies the same blueprint as Jones, but the finer details of his skillset could help lift Liverpool up and into title contention once again next year.
Arne Slot and Alexis Mac Allister for Liverpool
Arne Slot and Alexis Mac Allister for Liverpool