Three Liverpool players may switch positions as Pep Lijnders formulates a strategy. Even though the first-team stars of Liverpool are still a few days away from returning to practice, significant work is already being done at Kirkby out of the public eye.
The Liverpool team will reassemble for preseason practice at the AXA Training Center on Monday.
The Reds will go to Southeast Asia for friendlies against Manchester United and Crystal Palace in Bangkok and Singapore, respectively, after starting their summer training schedule in Kirkby.
After that, they will go to Austria, where they will play exhibition games against RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg before the Community Shield encounter against Manchester City on July 30. The program is completed by a match against Strasbourg the next day at Anfield.
There are five friendlies left, except the Community Shield, which is the first chance to win a trophy, for periphery players and inexperienced players to make an impression. They may certainly leave an impression on the practice field as well.
Opportunities arise as a result of the carefully controlled load of first-team talent. In fact, Jürgen Klopp frequently changes the entire starting XI throughout a friendly, as he did last summer against Mainz and Hertha Berlin.
The audition procedure for players at the program has already started. On Monday, they traveled back to Kirkby with assistant manager Pep Lijnders by their sides to evaluate the U21s and U18s and make selections for Klopp's preseason team.
Who then has the potential to drastically alter their situation at Anfield in the coming weeks?
Tyler Morton is a possible contender. Since the Reds appear to have decided against adding another midfielder this summer, Fabinho's natural backup will not be available. At the academy level, Morton has primarily played as a central midfielder, but Klopp has primarily utilized him as a no. 6 over the course of his nine first-team appearances in the last campaign.
In the course of a single month, he began matches for FC Porto, AC Milan, and Tottenham in the Premier League. After the turn of the year, he didn't play in either league and only made the Premier League matchday squad three times.
Although Morton displays outstanding control and distribution, he might need to show more physicality if he wants to be given more responsibilities the following year.
There might be room for Kaide Gordon as well. Fábio Carvalho only temporarily covers one of the voids caused by the departures of Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi from Liverpool. Gordon started domestic cup games against Norwich City, Shrewsbury, and Arsenal despite only playing eight minutes in the Premier League last season.
In comparison, Minamino and Origi made 22 and 18 appearances, respectively. Gordon might be given a promotion to a backup position in the first team if Liverpool decides not to look for outside replacements.
Even though he's only 17 years old, he is one of England's top young players, and since injuries also contributed to his limited playing time in the previous season, his growth could be sped up. He may significantly improve his short-term prospects if he can be more ruthless in front of goal in preseason than he was in his appearances last season.
Oakley Cannonier is another of the academy's most intriguing prospects. His record is incredible: 33 goals in 36 games for the Under-18s overall, and one goal every 85 minutes in 2021–2022. Unsurprisingly, he led the U18 Premier League in goals scored.
Despite being older than Gordon, Cannonier hasn't shown himself at the U23 level yet, so Lijnders might be wary. But he will undoubtedly receive the call if any U18 player does. And if he does admirably in elite-level workouts, he might be eligible for his first senior appearances in 2022 or 2023.
By demonstrating that they have advanced, all three players will seek to rekindle interest among the coaching staff and the fan base.
And they could all gain from the Premier League's switch to a five-substitute system, which should be advantageous for young players.
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