Tuesday 14 July marks the start of pre-season training for Liverpool players at AXA Training Centre. However, Andoni Iraola will only have a very truncated senior squad with which to work, at least to start with, due to injuries, departures and the World Cup.
Senior Liverpool players reporting for pre-season training on 14 July
- Goalkeepers: Giorgi Mamardashvili & Freddie Woodman
- Defenders: Jeremie Frimpong, Jérémy Jacquet, Joe Gomez, Kostas Tsimikas & Miloš Kerkez.
- Midfielders: Dominik Szoboszlai, Harvey Elliott & Curtis Jones.
- Forwards: Federico Chiesa & Rio Ngumoha.
Thus, this presents academy players with an opportunity to impress the new head coach. Plenty of youngsters will be need to make up the numbers once the pre-season fixtures commence, facing Sunderland, Wrexham and Leeds United stateside between 25 July and 2 August. Speaking at his unveiling press conference on Monday morning, Iraola recognised the need to integrate inexperienced academy graduates into his pre-season training camp.
Andoni Iraola on using youngsters in pre-season
"The first part of pre-season, it is going to be with a lot of players from the academy, players that in another situation, maybe I would not know as well, and now I will have the chance to get to know them personally, training every day with them, in some friendlies, and it is going to be good information for me."
So, which lesser-known young players could force their way into Iraola's plans during pre-season? Well, we've picked out the five we believe are most-likely to do so. Note, we have excluded Rio Ngumoha from this list because, frankly, he's too good and should now be considered a first team figure, having made 29 appearances last season, as well as making his senior England debut against New Zealand in Tampa last month.
1. James McConnell
Given the extremely limited midfield options, James McConnell is set to feature prominently towards the start of pre-season. The 21 year old defensive midfielder has appeared 13 times for the Reds' first team to date, making his breakthrough under Jürgen Klopp and the German was certainly impressed by his talent, labelling him a "joy to watch".
Not in Arne Slot's plans, McConnell joined Ajax on loan a year ago, featuring four times in the Eredivisie, as well as against Inter Milan, Chelsea and Galatasaray in the Champions League. However, his spell in Amsterdam was prematurely cut short due to injury, so pre-season will be key as he seeks to rebuild sharpness and rhythm, but his talent is clear.
2. Trey Nyoni
Teenager Trey Nyoni became the youngest Liverpool player to ever feature in UEFA competition against PSV back in January 2025, accumulating 20 senior outings thus far, now looking to kick on. The 19 year old started last year's EFL Cup ties against Southampton and Crystal Palace, as well as seeing six brief cameos off the bench in the Premier League, so Arne Slot clearly rated him.
As does under-21 manager Rob Page, who labelled him an "unbelievable player", praising his "football intelligence", adding "he's got the athleticism... just an all-around great player". One could argue, these are qualities Liverpool were lacking last season, so there is surely room for Nyoni in Iraola's plans, at least at this early stage.
3. Stefan Bajčetić
Stefan Bajčetić is back on Merseyside... remember him? The Spaniard, 18 years old at the time, burst onto the scene four years ago, scoring at Villa Park on Boxing Day 2022, the third-youngest Liverpool goalscorer in the Premier League, behind only Michael Owen and Raheem Sterling. However, his most-recent appearance for club came against Tottenham in May 2024, seemingly disappearing off the face of the earth. So what happened?
Well, Bajčetić's development has been completely derailed by multiple serious injuries. He rarely featured during loan spells at RB Salzburg and Las Palmas, while it is over a year since his last competitive match, suffering a serious hamstring injury during his time in the Canary Islands. Nevertheless, Bajčetić's talent is impossible to argue against so, if he can get fit again, the defensive midfielder is surely someone Iraola will be excited to work with.
4. Kaide Gordon
Elsehwere, can Kaide Gordon convince the new manager that he has a future at Liverpool? So far, the 21 year old has appeared just eight times for the senior team, scoring during an FA Cup victory over Shrewsbury Town back in January 2022. Since then, the winger has been loaned out to both Norwich City and Portsmouth in the EFL Championship, without making much of an impact at either.
Back when he first arrived from Derby, Klopp was certainly impressed, asserting that "his finishing is exceptional", adding that he has a "nose" for goal and "when he is in these situations, he is really calm". To date, Gordon is yet to get it all together and realise his potential, so could now be his time?
5. Kieran Morrison
Lastly, Kieran Morrison has made just two senior appearances for Liverpool, starting October's ill-fated EFL Cup defeat to Crystal Palace, before a brief cameo off the bench against Wolves in the FA Cup. Meantime, the 19 year old has certainly been impressing at youth level, scoring 14 goals in 18 Premier League 2 outings last season, including a hat-trick against Arsenal.
Thus, in June, Morrison earned his senior debut for Northern Ireland. He started as Michael O'Neill's team beat Guinea 1-0 in Southern Spain, replaced at half time after catching the eye. After the game, he said "I'm very proud and my family is very proud too". This, this was obviously an excellent expirence for the 19 year old, so can he now take a step forward back at his club?
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