By Josh Smith
Liverpool’s pre-season tour of America kicks off this Saturday, but the 31-man squad will take a less senior shape, with most of the starting squad recovering from World Cup duties. This means Iraola will be able to experiment with fringe players who otherwise may not have had a chance under the new manager, who is still trying to implement his philosophy and style at the club.
The team will also see a lot of last season’s under-21 players involved, which for many Liverpool fans will be the first time they watch some of our brightest talents of the future at the club. There should be a lot of excitement around all of these players, but here are three who you should be particularly excited to see.
1 – Kieran Morrison
Liverpool’s standout academy regular of the 25/26 season gave him good reason to push for senior minutes. The Northern Irishman bagged 15 goals and 7 assists in all competitions, earning a nomination for PL2 player of the season. He’s had lots of time around the first team, travelling with the first team and appearing on the bench for Slot’s side on match days. With limited senior attackers out in America, it would make sense for Iraola to give him some minutes in Chicago. Because of that, it wouldn’t surprise me if the 19-year-old Mancunian had a great preseason to give Iraola some serious thought before exploring options in the current market.
2- Harvey Elliott
After a sadly disappointing loan spell at Aston Villa, Harvey Elliott will want to prove his worth in this Liverpool side. With a new manager, it’s a fresh start for the boyhood fan of the Reds. It’s advantageous for the Englishman that Wirtz is still recovering from the World Cup and that he is one of the few senior players from Jurgen Klopp’s reign, as he will get game time in America to show he can compete for a spot in the attacking line. While stats weren’t favourable, Elliott did show signs he was able to start strongly in games under Emery, something that he struggled with at Liverpool. Now that he’s had the experience of struggling away from Liverpool, it could be that we see a very hungry and driven Harvey Elliott, which will be extremely exciting. With his top work rate and high-energy pressing, he will want to show Iraola that he should be involved in his plans for next season.
3- Josh Abe
Josh Abe is the player I am most excited to see. Not having had an official involvement with any match-day squad as of yet, the recently turned 16-year-old has had a plethora of clubs interested in acquiring his talents, including Chelsea and Manchester City, but the Reds managed to convince him to stay on as a scholar. An England youth international who plays on the right-hand side may get a cameo or two out in America and will be a wildcard option to use for Iraola. Abe has been with the club since he was five, and so the importance of giving him first-team minutes is crucial, as we all want to see one of our own make their way into the side. He is electric, clinical, and fearless and could make our future front three one to be afraid of, as he could team up with Rio Ngumoha in our front three.
His stats back up this hype and promise. According to Wyscout, Abe averages 1.06 goal contributions per 90, which is double Rio’s at the same under-15/16 international level and the Liverpool under-18 level too. Liverpool are extremely privileged to have two of the country’s best talents at the club in Ngumoha and Josh Abe, but I am extremely excited to see him prove himself at the senior level during pre-season and really announce himself to the world.
Liverpool are to face Sunderland on Saturday, 25th July; Wrexham on Thursday, 30th July, and Leeds on August 2nd. We will be covering the matches from the States with Vlogs, reactions, plus our interview content for Redmen Plus. As fans, it is the most exciting time to see how Iraola will want to set up his Liverpool team, as well as see who will give competition to those starters come the start of the season at the end of August.
