With the start of pre-season still over a fortnight away and last term's exertions in the rearview mirror, it's a rare period of calm and quiet at Liverpool just now.
Having brought in Alexis Mac Allister earlier this month when his £35m release clause at Brighton & Hove Albion was triggered, the club have continued to weigh up their next move in the transfer market as the midfield rebuild continues.
The summer started with something of a bang with Mac Allister's capture, which was confirmed less than two weeks after the Premier League season had finished, but it's all been quiet since as the targets continue to be assessed.
Here is all the latest off-diary Reds news as Paul Gorst brings you the titbits from around Anfield in his Liverpool Notebook.
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Klopp is a wanted man
Jurgen Klopp's agent Marc Kosicke was once more having to dismiss tentative speculation around the Liverpool manager's future in his homeland this week.
Germany's 2-0 defeat to Colombia - in a game that saw Reds winger Luis Diaz head home the opener - has led to increased pressure on Hansi Flick in the managerial hotseat.
"It's going in the wrong direction at a huge pace," said former Reds midfielder Didi Hamann. "[He has] lost the trust of the players. We've been muddling around for years and think we're the best and greatest. But the fact is that we've fallen so far behind."
Calls in German media have grown for Klopp to take charge of his nation with influential publication BILD dedicating a particularly sizable opinion piece to that notion earlier this week.
Having ruled out a move to Bayern Munich due to his Borussia Dortmund history, there are likely few top jobs available to Klopp in his homeland and while the possibility of him coaching his country might appeal, one day, it was heartening to hear Kosicke roundly dismiss the apparent hopes of a nation this week.
"Jurgen has a long-term contract with the LFC and the DFB has a national coach,” he said. “So it's not an issue for us at all." Liverpool supporters can rest easy, despite the demands from Germany.
Doak 'raring to go'
Ben Doak is said to be "raring to go" this summer as he looks to make a big impression on Jurgen Klopp during the pre-season schedule.
It's understood the Scottish winger has been doing his best to make sure he arrives at pre-season training on July 8 in the best possible shape as he attempts to take more sizable steps following a campaign that saw him make his senior and Premier League debuts under Klopp.
Lengthy holiday periods have been eschewed by Doak in favour of keeping himself in peak condition to hit the ground running next month when he will be involved in the trip to the Black Forest in Germany before a visit to Singapore.
Doak has been training with childhood friend and Crystal Palace midfielder Dylan Reid and is "raring to go", according to one source. It could be a big summer for the fearless teenager as he aims to continue on the upward curve he has been on since he moved from Celtic in March 2022.
It will be interesting to see how Liverpool handle Doak going forward. His fledgling years mean he is eligible for Under-18s football but having starred for the U23s last term, he has forced his way to the fringes of the first-team set-up and another season of similar progress will see him really start to bang on the door.
Gabriel Veiga latest
Gabri Veiga is one of the handful of midfielders being assessed by Liverpool at the Under-21 European Championships in Romania and Georgia.
The Spain youth international was a second-half substitute for their opening game against Romania earlier this week as La Roja won 3-0.
The Celta Vigo starlet is being assessed after an exciting 11-goal campaign for the La Liga side and recent reports in his homeland have suggested the Reds have struck an agreement on personal terms ahead of move.
However, it's believed those reports are premature while speculation has now suggested Chelsea are in the hunt for Veiga too. The 21-year-old has a reported release clause of around £35m.
Anfield Road still on schedule as big names are confirmed
Rumours have surfaced this week of the Anfield Road development project being a few weeks behind schedule, leading to concerns the new stand might be closed for the Reds' first home game of the season, against Bournemouth on August 19.
Despite those rumours, however, Liverpool have continued to boast of their progress across their social media channels of late, with the first unobstructed view of the pitch from high up on the new stand being revealed earlier this week.
That follows on from the gigantic 550-kilogram club crest that was fastened on to the side of the stadium last week.
The badge took three days to install in pieces due to its size - which measures 5 meters by 6.9 meters - and alongside the newly released video of the full view from the stand, progress appears to be considerable as Liverpool hurtle towards that visit from Bournemouth.
The ECHO understands the club are still planning for that Bournemouth game to raise the curtain on the £80m development project and it's full steam ahead to reopening to what will be a Premier League record crowd of 61000 at Anfield.
The announcement of Taylor Swift's impending arrival on Merseyside next year was further proof that the club remain committed to turning one of the most iconic football stadiums on the planet into more than just a venue for football.
"[We have] no major events [planned in 2023] but definitely for 2024, we're back in the market for concerts," Liverpool's vice-president of stadium operations Paul Cuttill told the ECHO last month. "Hopefully the same level of stars [as previously]. That's the intention!"
As one of the biggest artists on the planet right now, it's fair to say Liverpool have delivered on that promise following the announcement of Swift's Eras tour next year.
