A look back at the summer for key Liverpool internationals

One of the joys of following a club like Liverpool is the international nature of the roster. In a summer like this one, with major continental cups taking place, there's a great opportunity to watch many of your favorite Reds spread throughout the globe.

However, the international summer went better for some Reds than it did for others. Let's talk about some of the key performances, and where relevant, what it might mean for that player heading into the club season.

The Dutch coalition

Liverpool is becoming more and more Dutch by the day; in addition to a new Dutch coach and a Dutch captain, Liverpool's best player at this summer's tournaments was a Dutchman.

No, it's not the skipper Virgil van Dijk; Cody Gakpo once again impressed for the Netherlands, finishing as a joint-top scorer for the Euro with three goals.

Playing more or less exclusively as a left winger, Gakpo scored twice in games his team won by just a goal, and contributed both a goal and an assist in a 3-0 knockout win over Romania.

He was lively and dangerous in a big draw against France, creating two chances and nearly scoring a miraculous goal in the 0-0 contest.

Of course, this served as yet another reminder where he belongs on the pitch, rather than in the central roles in which he's so often found himself for Liverpool.

As for van Dijk, he was the steady presence he always is, providing solid leadership for his nation, even if his defense endured some surprising lapses.

Unfortunately, Liverpool's last Dutch representative, Ryan Gravenberch, was an essential non-factor in the tournament, a real letdown after a strong finish to the club season.

English or just Scouse?

In one of the least shocking twists of the tournament, Liverpool's players were treated absolutely horribly by Gareth Southgate and the English national team.

Joe Gomez finally received a long-awaited and well-deserved call-up for a major tournament, and never even saw the pitch.

Meanwhile, the Trent Alexander-Arnold midfield experiment started and abruptly ended with little rhyme or reason.

Despite comfortably leading England in chance creation through the first two games of the group stage, Trent played just 69 and 54 minutes in those contests, and never picked up another start.

He got just 11 more minutes of game time, none of which after he scored the penalty to salvage a knockout win against Switzerland.

Not only was Alexander-Arnold robbed of the chance to adjust to midfield- he was yanked entirely after about a game and a half's worth of work in the role- he wasn't even given time at his standard right-back position.

Of course, that decision cost England the tournament as Kyle Walker's generationally poor performance in the final directly granted Spain the trophy, and an outright benching of Trent certainly isn't in the cards for Liverpool.

The lesson here is likely just that even if he is to become the midfielder his talent implies he could be, it could take some time. The project is worth undertaking, as it would help Liverpool squeeze more of its top talent onto the pitch, but it may not be a quick or easy road.

Two more European captains

Simply put, neither Andy Robertson nor Dominik Szoboszlai was consistently at their best throughout their three games in Group A, which ended with both teams knocked out after Hungary shocked Scotland with a late win.

Szoboszlai contributed some dangerous passes, but was not the goalscoring threat he's often been for his country, while Robertson unfortunately showed some age as he struggled at times against top players like Jamal Musiala and even Szoboszlai himself.

Steady South American Stars

There's not a lot to say about Alisson or Alexis Mac Allister's performances in the Copa America. Brazil's goalkeeper once again did his job, but wasn't necessarily the unbelievable force he was for Liverpool when healthy this past season.

Meanwhile, Mac Allister's Argentina lifted yet another trophy, and he chipped in nicely with a pair of important assists.

He never had a real stinker, but he also didn't quite dazzle against top competition the way we saw in the 2022 World Cup or even for Liverpool at times.

Forwards with whom patience is running thin

Darwin Núñez entered this Copa America fresh off of a hat trick in a tune-up friendly against Mexico, and instantly looked decidedly tuned up as he scored in the first two matches of the group stage.

Of course, those were against Panama and Bolivia, and neither goal was necessarily vital.

Once the matches turned tough, Núñez was nowhere to be found. He was a non-factor against the United States, albeit in a low-stakes game, but in the knockout stage, provided very little against Brazil- to the point of being subbed off with 12 minutes to go- as he turned 0.57 xG into a whopping 0.00 xG on target without creating a single chance throughout the performance.

He was also useless against Colombia, as he shot four times without getting a single one on frame, was dispossessed four times, and went offsides three.

At the end of that match, which ended with Uruguay's elimination, he participated in a skirmish between Uruguay players and Colombia fans, which, however justified it may or may not have been, could result in a ban of some length once the club season starts.

Speaking of Colombia, Luis Díaz had a very similar tournament. He chipped in goals in a 3-0 win over Costa Rica and a 5-0 win over Panama, but in tight games against good teams, was largely unproductive, despite some very pretty dribbles and step-overs.

His FotMob match ratings included scores of 6.8 against Brazil, 6.4 against Uruguay, and a nauseating 5.3 in 105 minutes against Argentina. He shot one time in each game, one of which came inside the box.

Díaz didn't contribute a single assist despite the state of Colombia's attack during the tournament, a real testament to his game.

We've seen little different at Liverpool; he has one of the most aesthetically lovely skill packages we've seen come through Anfield, but he has a profound inability to turn it into production, especially when it comes to creating for others in key spots.

At this point, it's hard not to know what we have in both Núñez and Díaz, and what's even clearer is that what we have is not enough. This is especially true given the potential prices each could fetch on the transfer market; it's time to sell either, or preferably both, before they become a part of the Slot era.