Liverpool have announced their 29-man squad for the upcoming pre-season tour of Asia, with two notable absences.
Two big names are missing
The team has played two friendlies so far, with eight goals scored and only one conceded against Preston and Stoke City. Now Arne Slot’s men will step up their preparations for the new season with a trip to the Far East, where they face AC Milan in Hong Kong before taking on the Japanese team Yokohama F. Marinos.
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The full squad was announced on the club’s official website on Sunday evening, with two major absences:
- Luis Díaz – heavily linked to Bayern Munich – is not part of the travel company, which clearly indicates that he could be on his way out. The Colombian winger was also not in the squad for the closed 5-0 win over Stoke City, after Bayern recently had a bid of £58.5m rejected.
- Federico Chiesa – who scored against Stoke – has also been left out, which Fabrizio Romano believes is due to the fact that he is “expected to leave the club this summer”. The Italian player joined Liverpool for just £10 million last summer, but only made 12 appearances (one goal).
Fans react
James Pearce of The Athletic reported that Chiesa’s absence is due to a “minor fitness issue”, but many Liverpool fans believe both players are on their way out:
- “They can hear me crying in Liverpool with this news, damn it.”
- “I was fine until I saw this.”
- “We definitely need a new attacking player/striker if Chiesa also leaves.”
- “Not Chiesa, that is… I don’t want him to leave.”
Full squad for the Asia tour
Among those included are big names such as Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Mohamed Salah, as well as new signings Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez.
It will also be interesting to see how Dominik Szoboszlai is used, after he played right-back in the game against Stoke at the AXA Training Centre.
Liverpool squad for pre-season tour:
Alisson, Gomez, Endo, Van Dijk, Konaté, Szoboszlai, Núñez, Mac Allister, Salah, Jones, Gakpo, Elliott, Tsimikas, Robertson, Gravenberch, Doak, Woodman, Mamardashvili, Kerkez, Wirtz, Frimpong, Pécsi, Ngumoha, Misciur, Morton, Bradley, Stephenson, Nyoni.
Now what?
If both Díaz and Chiesa leave, Liverpool will likely have to bring in a replacement before the start of the season. The transfer window is open until August 30, so it remains to be seen whether Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes have plans for new reinforcements.
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