Liverpool will officially be looking ahead to the 2023/24 campaign when they return to pre-season training on Saturday.
Jurgen Klopp and a handful of his squad are back at the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby this weekend for what is one of the most feared days on the calendar for the playing staff as they are pushed to their limits to build up their base fitness levels.
Stefan Bajcetic, Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho will be joined by Darwin Nunez, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Nat Phillips and goalkeeper Adrian ahead of the return of the internationals on Tuesday, a group that will include new signings Dominik Sozoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister.
Ahead of the official start of the summer programme, the ECHO has all the latest off-diary Reds news as Paul Gorst brings you the titbits from his Liverpool Notebook.
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Lavia latest
Having brought in Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister as two attack-minded 'No.8s' for the coming campaign, interest has shifted further back as far as transfer targets are concerned.
Liverpool are weighing up whether or not to complete their midfield rebuilding with a third new addition to the engine room and Southampton's Romeo Lavia is now the player under most consideration, it is understood.
The club have performed their due diligence on the 19-year-old for some time and have already reached out to Elite Project Group who are Lavia's representatives.
The feeling persists, however, that Southampton are demanding too much for a player with less than 40 senior games under his belt. A £50m fee would make the teenager the most expensive player to ever leave the Championship and the recently-relegated Saints appear determined to fetch as high a price as possible to fund their charge back to the Premier League under new manager Russell Martin.
With Arsenal and Chelsea also interested and a buyback clause in place for Manchester City to trigger at £40m in 12 months' time, the Saints will feel justified in their hard-line stance over the defensive midfielder.
Liverpool, though, have proven themselves to be careful spenders in recent years and believe there to be a deal done at a more cost-effective sum. While the Reds are usually reluctant to get drawn into any real 'transfer saga', this one could yet run and run.
Mbappe update
It was somewhat of a shock to hear Liverpool linked with a remarkable €200m (£170m) move for Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe this week.
Spanish media outlet El Chiringuito made the claim earlier this week, suggesting the Reds were lining up a spectacular move for the France international. That sum would be £95m more than the current club record deal it took to bring Virgil van Dijk to Anfield from Southampton over six years ago.
For a player who is entering the final 12 months of his contract at the age of 24, it defies logic that Liverpool - one of the most cautious spenders within the elite level - would lay out those kind of figures on one player before a salary is even factored into the equation.
For the record, Liverpool made it known to Monaco in 2017 that they would like to be kept up to date with developments regarding the electric frontman before his move to Paris and, as revealed by Mbappe himself, even held talks with him during his time at PSG.
"We talked a little bit, but not too much," Mbappe told the Daily Telegraph last year. "I talked to Liverpool because it's the favourite club of my mum, my mum loves Liverpool. I don't know why, you will have to ask her. It's a good club and we met them five years ago. When I was in Monaco I met them. It's a big club. Of course, it was between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in the end."
However, Real Madrid remain firm favourites for his next destination as PSG continue to claim publicly that they won't countenance him leaving as a free agent in 12 months' time. Another problem is the idea that Mbappe would immediately come in on the kind of wages that have made Mohamed Salah the highest paid player of all time at Liverpool.
The club's wage bill, while carefully managed, is already one of the biggest in football and the 2022 increase for Salah was taken with the idea that the Egyptian has proven himself as a special case during the five years previous. Any move for Mbappe would majorly unbalance that structure, even when factoring in the savings made by those who have left the club in recent weeks.
The idea of a move for Mbappe as a free agent is not a totally unbelievable one - even if Liverpool would face strong competition from every top club in world football and be behind at least Real Madrid in the race - the prospect of handing over £170m in a season when the Reds are outside the Champions League is a total non-starter.
Deepdale friendly confirmed
As reported by the ECHO last month, Liverpool have now confirmed their plans to play a pre-season friendly at Preston North End's Deepdale next month.
The Reds will 'host' German side SV Darmstadt on Monday August 7, six days before their Premier League campaign begins at Chelsea, as they bring their summer schedule to a close in central Lancashire.
Plans for the use of Preston's ground have been in the pipeline for some time and the moving of the final 'home' friendly of the summer is not related to any rumours that Liverpool are behind schedule in their £80m Anfield Road development project.
As has been the case since day one, Liverpool are still planning to open their doors to a crowd of up to 61,000 for the first game of the 2023/24 campaign, when Bournemouth visit on August 19.
