Jurgen Klopp has included a host of talented youngsters in his initial 33-man squad for Liverpool’s training camp in Dubai this week.
The Reds will take on Ligue 1 outfit Lyon and Serie A champions AC Milan in the Dubai Super Cup as part of their trip to the middle east, with competitive action helping them prepare for the Premier League ’s return after the World Cup.
Klopp will be without a number of stars who have been competing just across the Persian Gulf in Qatar, but a number of those are expected to join up with the squad at later dates between now and the end of the tournament.
Adrian, Caoimhin Kelleher, Thiago Alcantara, Roberto Firmino, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Nat Phillips, Andy Robertson, Mohamed Salah, Kostas Tsimikas, Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsay have all been named in the travelling squad.
Also joining them are youngsters Harvey Davies, Fabian Mrozek, Marcelo Pitaluga, Stefan Bajcetic, Kaide Gordon, Luke Chambers, Jarell Quansah, Bobby Clark, Melkamu Frauendorf, Layton Stewart, Ben Doak, Jake Cain and Dominic Corness.
The travelling party also involves first team stars Luis Diaz (knee), Diogo Jota (calf), Naby Keita (thigh) and Arthur Melo (thigh), who will continue to work on their individual rehabilitation programmes from their respective injuries.
Which players need to impress Jurgen Klopp during Liverpool's training camp? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Klopp will welcome back a number of international players who have been competing at the World Cup throughout different stages of the tour, including Darwin Nunez after Uruguay were knocked out in the group stage last week.
The striker has been given a week off to recover, however, and will join up with the rest of his teammates at a later date.
Trent Alexander Arnold and Jordan Henderson (England), Alisson and Fabinho (Brazil), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands), and Ibrahima Konate (France) are still competing for their nations at the 2022 World Cup as the tournament reaches its latter stages.
Should any of them reach the semi-finals and the final, however, then it is expected that they will fly straight back to Merseyside instead, rather than link up with the rest of the squad in Dubai.
Klopp’s side take on Lyon on Sunday, December 11 at the Al Maktoum Stadium in the first game of the Dubai Super Cup, before clashing with AC Milan five days later on Friday, December 16 at the same venue.
Liverpool squad for Dubai training camp: Adrian, Kelleher, Davies, Mrozek, Pitaluga, Salah, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jones, Elliott, Tsimikas, Ramsay, Robertson, Carvalho, Bajcetic, Phillips, Gordon, Keita, Matip, Gomez, Jota, Arthur, Diaz, Thiago, Firmino, Chambers, Quansah, Clark, Frauendorf, Stewart, Doak, Cain, Corness.
