Liverpool’s summer has been running on two clocks.
One belongs to the squad that flew out to the United States in late July and has been working under a new head coach for a fortnight.
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The other belongs to the players who were still competing in a World Cup while their teammates reported back to Kirkby, and who have been on holiday ever since.
Those clocks are about to sync.
The meeting with Leeds United at Soldier Field in Chicago closes the American leg of the tour, and once the group lands back on Merseyside the AXA Training Centre will start to look a good deal more familiar.
Speaking to the club’s official website in Chicago, Andoni Iraola set out when each of his absent internationals will arrive.
Victor Munoz comes first.
“Yes, he comes next week,” the head coach confirmed, before revealing that the forward had asked to shorten his break.
“We spoke to him and he wanted also to come a little bit earlier than the three weeks that they have the right to have, because obviously he is coming to a new club, he will need some time to adapt, to meet his teammates,” Iraola said.
“We will have him next week as soon as we arrive there, basically.”
“It’s good news.”
It is easy to see why he is pleased.
Munoz arrived from Osasuna in June for a fee reported at 40 million euros, the first signing of the Iraola era, on a six year contract, and ended the summer as a World Cup winner with Spain at 22.
Alisson Becker is next.
“Alisson will be there from the first day,” Iraola said of the goalkeeper, who reported to the AXA later than Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk earlier in the window before joining up with Brazil.
Alexis Mac Allister waits longest.
“Alexis will have, I think, until the Monaco game,” the head coach explained, pointing to the Argentina midfielder’s workload.
“I think deserved holidays for him; long season, long World Cup, played until the final, has played a lot of minutes.
I hope he comes fully recovered and he enjoys also the break that he definitely has earned.”
That leaves little runway.
Monaco visit Anfield on 9 August, Como follow a week later, and the Premier League opener at Newcastle United arrives on 23 August.
Iraola was candid about the tension in that.
“There is a part where you want to start straight away and feel the pressure of the competition, but also you want to use every friendly as good as we can,” he said, noting that each match exposes something to correct or a timing to sharpen.
“The more information, the more things we can correct before we start, it’s going to be much better.”
The tour has gone well enough so far, with wins over Sunderland and Wrexham.
The truer picture arrives once the World Cup contingent is folded back in.