‘Unprecedented’ has been a word used to often describe the football calendar in recent years, with elite sides facing the most intense of fixture lists in truncated campaigns due to frequent reshuffling, first because of the coronavirus pandemic and now because of a mid-season World Cup in Qatar.
However, an end is in sight with the 2023/24 season, all being well, and a giant step back toward ‘normality’. This is demonstrated by the fact that the Premier League is set to commence on Saturday, August 12, conclude on Sunday, May 19, while a brief winter break has been reintroduced.
Now aren’t those more traditional dates a lot more civilised? Alas, the 2024 Champions League final is scheduled for Saturday, June 1, but we can't have everything.
READ MORE: Liverpool door is open for January transfers after Jurgen Klopp hints and Luis Diaz deal
READ MORE: Liverpool sale latest - 'secret talks' claim, new FSG asking price and buyer 'ruled out'
At least Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will be relieved to know that the summer of 2023 will provide a full close-season break and pre-season schedule for his squad without the interruptions of a major senior international tournament.
In Europe, summer international football is limited to two June European Championships qualifiers for the majority. Meanwhile, Virgil van Dijk will compete for the Netherlands at the 2023 UEFA Nations League, while Thiago Alcantara has an outside chance of representing Spain after his World Cup snub, but the two-game commitment is not an additional exertion.
Meanwhile, the next Copa America is scheduled for 2024, while the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations has been pushed back until January 2024. While that will create later concerns for Klopp, it at least gifts Mohamed Salah a summer free of an international tournament.
With Takumi Minamino no longer a Reds player, as things stand Liverpool no longer need to concern themselves with the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, while their squad currently doesn’t contain any players who will participate in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup either.
As a result, barring the standard two international fixtures taking place in the June break, the majority of Klopp’s senior squad will be free to enjoy a full summer break before reporting back to the AXA Training Centre at the start of pre-season. A stark contrast and welcome change to the recent staggered starts the Reds have grown accustomed to, to be sure.
However, a plethora of youth international tournaments could leave Liverpool without a handful of first team players, with it also perhaps limiting the number of youngsters free to link up with Klopp’s senior squad in pre-season.
The 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championships are scheduled to take place in Romania and Georgia between June 21 and July 8, with Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones both highly likely to represent England at the tournament.
Fabio Carvalho could also be called up by U21s manager Lee Carsley after informing Portugal Under-21s he no longer wishes to represent them, having represented the young Lions in earlier age groups. Elsewhere, the likes of Tyler Morton and Rhys Williams perhaps have an outside chance of a call-up, with the former still uncapped despite earning his maiden selection in September and the latter twice representing England Under-21s in 2020.
Czech Republic are in Group C along with England for the tournament, meaning Liverpool’s English contingent are likely to lock horns with Reds goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros - who is currently on loan at Stockport County. Elsewhere, Sepp van den Berg is in line to be called up by the Netherlands.
Away from the U21s Euros, the Under-20s World Cup will take place in Indonesia between May 20 and June 11, while the Under-19s European Championships are scheduled for July 3-July 16 in Malta and will clash with pre-season.
Qualification is yet to be completed for either tournament, but a number of Liverpool youngsters are likely to be involved for their respective nations and be unavailable for some of pre-season as a result.
Harvey Davies, Fabian Mrozek, Liam Hughes, Stefan Bajcetic, Luke Chambers, James Norris, Melkamu Frauendorf, Thomas Hill, Isaac Mabaya, Bobby Clark and Kaide Gordon were all named in the Reds’ travelling squads to Singapore and/or Austria last summer, while Jake Cain, Ben Doak, Jarrell Quansah and Layton Stewart have all featured in matchday squads this season.
READ NEXT
- Liverpool made £2m signing who changed history before leaving in rare 'swap' deal
- 'Defending him again' - Jamie Carragher and Rio Ferdinand clash over Cristiano Ronaldo interview
- Liverpool must avoid Cristiano Ronaldo issue as FSG could pose January problem
- Liverpool fixture quirk hands Jurgen Klopp new Premier League problem
- Liverpool 'interested' in Noah Okafor as 'possible' January transfer claim made
