Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Liverpool’s international break has so far been a mixture of good news and bad news, with decent form from some senior players spliced between damaging injuries to Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak.
Florian Wirtz starred for Germany on Thursday night, while there was also a return to form for Ryan Gravenberch. Both players have badly been in need of a turnaround, and Reds fans will hope that they carry that confidence back to the domestic calendar.
In the meantime, Andoni Iraola has reportedly been running the rule over some of Liverpool‘s young players while his senior stars are away. After reports that Iraola has mixed the first-team and youth teams together during the international window, supporters can expect to see the Reds squad supplemented by some fresh faces for the punishing run of upcoming fixtures.
Wirtz
Iraola will have some new youngsters to turn to
One of the features of Iraola’s early tenure at Liverpool has been his willingness to put young or fringe players in for a chance in the first-team.
Lewis Koumas has been the main beneficiary of this so far, but Trey Nyoni has also been trusted more by the new head coach, while James McConnell was excellent during his start in the Carabao Cup against Tottenham as well.
Iraola will clearly look to use young players if he thinks they are good enough, and with an extended, three-week break to get a closer look at some of them this September and October, there will surely have been a handful who have caught his eye.
Once they get going again with a hotly anticipated clash against Manchester City on October 11th, Liverpool then have eight further matches in the following 28 days as they contend with three different competitions. Though their injury situation is currently fairly good, losing Gakpo and Isak for any amount of time instantly weakens the group.
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Andoni Iraola should be very worried by what Xavi is doing with Virgil van Dijk on international duty
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Iraola will have options within his squad to turn to, but if any young players have stood out to him while the first-team have been away, it is likely that they will be given the platform to kick on.
With so many games to come, Iraola will now have a better idea of which players from the academy are ready to help out even a little. It would not be a surprise at all to see him turn to them.
Which talents could be in the mix?
Without knowing exactly which players have been regularly training under the watch of Iraola and his coaching staff, it is hard to say exactly who is likely to be in the frame for a bigger role. It has been reported that Jayden Danns and McConnell are two who have featured, but beyond that already established pair, no further information has been offered.
Liverpool do have some big talents at underage levels, though, and after showing flashes during pre-season, both Josh Sonni-Lambie and Will Wright will have been keen to impress. Isak’s injury could lead to a vacancy up front, and both players – Wright in particular – will be eyeing a senior debut.
Hungarian brothers Erik and Patrik Farkas, the latter recently returned from Blackburn Rovers, are two more highly-rated youngsters who may have been in Iraola’s thinking as well. So too might Haydn Murray-Holmes, who recently signed a new contract with the Reds.
Full-back has been an area in need of improvement recently, and in left-back Clae Ewing and right-back DJ Esdaille they have two players who could offer an option.
At centre-back Prince Cisse has been catching the eye, with Wellity Lucky another likely to have been working under Iraola.
There is no guarantee that the Liverpool head coach turns to any of these players, but he has now had an extensive period to gauge where their levels are, and if injuries and unavailability bite over the coming month, he will know just how much he can rely on them.
Photo by STEFAN KOOPS/EYE4IMAGES/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by STEFAN KOOPS/EYE4IMAGES/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Michael Mayhew/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Photo by Michael Mayhew/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Jeff Bezos speaks onstage ahead of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at Blue Origin in Cape Canaveral, Florida (Credit: Getty Images/Mguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP).
Jeff Bezos speaks onstage ahead of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at Blue Origin in Cape Canaveral, Florida (Credit: Getty Images/Mguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP).