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Liverpool’s return to pre-season for the new campaign has come under circumstances no one could have anticipated. 

Less than one week after Diogo Jota’s death, the club is resembling with heavy hearts and a renewed sense of perspective. 

The usual rhythms of July – fitness drill, tactical briefings and transfer updates remain, but they do so against a backdrop of grief and quiet solidarity. 

This will not be a normal pre-season, nor should it be. 

For Arne Slot, now preparing for his second year in charge, the task is to lead with compassion while laying the foundations for a season in which Liverpool will seek to defend their Premier League crown. 

They will also attempt to integrate new signings and forge a fresh identity shaped by both football and fraternity. 

A CHANGED MOODGetty Images.

Liverpool’s players officially returned to the AXA Training Centre on Tuesday, slightly later than initially scheduled. 

The four-day delay was a confirmed decision by the club considering a teammate’s death, allowing the squad and staff appropriate time to grieve and begin to process the emotional weight of recent events. 

Actions have been put in place for returning to a sense of normality but also ensuring there is a respectful and gradual reintegration. 

This pre-season is not just about finding fitness or preparation – it is about finding strength in unity and whether Liverpool’s first scheduled friendly, a trip to Preston North End this weekend, will go ahead as planned remains under consideration. 

The club is taking the correct approach, alongside the emotional circumstances currently. 

REFINING THE BLUEPRINT 

Arne Slot enters his second season with a clear tactical foundation that balances possession control with aggressive pressing. 

Unlike the frenetic intensity of previous years, Slot’s Liverpool plays with greater positional discipline and tactical structure, emphasising transitions and minimizing risky turnovers. 

The team typically operates in a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 formation, allowing midfielders to rotate and support both defensive solidity and attacking fluidity. 

Central to this approach is maintaining balance between ball retention and vertical progression, ensuring they do not become predictable in possession, nor overly conservative. 

Defensively, Liverpool under Slot have demonstrated improved compactness, with the midfielders and forwards coordinating press triggers to disrupt opposition build-up early. 

Full-backs no longer commit to constant high overlaps; instead, they balance their forward runs with disciplined positioning to avoid counter-attack exposure. 

A tactical evolution that was apparent throughout the title winning season but may look to be refined with the additions of predominantly attacking full backs in Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong. 

As for attack, there is the aim to leverage the creativity and vision of new record-signing Florian Wirtz, who is expected to become a pivotal playmaker. 

His integration will provide fresh passing angles and facilitate quicker combinations to compliment the wide threat, including Mohamed Salah. 

Pre-season preparations are only just beginning with Arne Slot and his coaching staff seeking to maximise squad versatility, while navigating defensive resilience. 

PROACTIVE TRANSFER WINDOWLiverpoolFC.com

Liverpool’s summer transfer window has so far been characterised by purposeful renewal and strategic evolution, reflecting the club’s ambition to defend the Premier League trophy and the necessity of adapting to a changing squad dynamic. 

At just twenty-two years old, Florian Wirtz brings creative intelligence and composure in the attacking midfield role, offering Liverpool a fresh option capable of unlocking tight defences and adding attacking variety. 

Joining Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen is Jeremie Frimpong, after his new club triggered a release clause. 

The defender’s speed, directness and tenacity provide a natural replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold. 

On the left flank, Milos Kerkez combines defensive discipline with attacking support, aligning with Liverpool’s tactical demands. 

Meanwhile, the goalkeeping department has overseen a huge shake-up. 

Both coaches in Fabian Otte and Claudio Taffarel have departed, alongside Caoimhin Kelleher making the switch to Brentford. 

Giorgi Mamardashvili has now officially become a Liverpool player for a fee in the region of £30million from Valencia – a deal in place since last summer. 

Mamardashvili is expected to rival Alisson Becker for the number one spot but will prove no easy feat. 

The largely experienced Freddie Woodman and young talent, Armin Pecsi, have also joined the team. 

Liverpool have also been able to sanction the defensive sales of both Jarell Quansah and Nathaniel Phillips, to Bayer Leverkusen and West Bromwich Albion for a combined fee of thirty-seven million pounds.

Reinforcements remain yet to arrive, but Marc Guehi is a name of concrete interest – coinciding with the contract uncertainty that surrounds Ibrahima Konaté. 

As for the forward line, keen admiration from European and Saudi clubs remains for Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez – with the Colombian keen to decide on his future as early as this week. 

There is also the unimaginable situation of having to replace such an influential figure like Diogo Jota, to which the club will take time to do so. 

Overall, Liverpool’s transfer dealings demonstrate a clear strategy, and don’t appear to be concluding just yet. 

FIXTURE SCHEDULE 

The club’s pre-season schedule has been deliberately streamlined to reflect both practical needs and emotional context of the summer. 

Preston North End have now opened ticketing sales for this Sunday’s friendly with the Reds – despite knowing the circumstance around a potential postponement. 

But if the game is to be played, they already plan to tribute Diogo Jota in whichever way possible, anticipating an emotional day at Deepdale. 

Liverpool will then take a break before jetting off on their pre-season tour of Asia towards the end of July. 

They kick off against AC Milan in Hong Kong on 26th July, followed by Yokohama F.

Marinos in Tokyo four days later. 

A first Anfield scheduling for the new season is pencilled for Sunday 4th August, a two-match encounter versus Athletic Club with kick off times at 5pm and 8pm. 

Wembley Stadium then waits for the official season curtain raiser when Liverpool face FA Cup winners, Crystal Palace for the Community Shield in August. 

This limited itinerary is by design with Arne Slot preferring quality over quantity. 

It also allows for more time at the AXA to integrate new signings without worries over fatigue. 

A SEASON OF INTENTIONLiverpoolFC.com

This is a pre-season unlike any Liverpool have faced in recent memory. 

It begins in mourning, but it must evolve into momentum. 

There is no manual for how a squad processes a loss of a teammate – only shared with purpose, time and collective strength. 

Yet amidst the heartbreak, a project will continue to move forward. 

With Arne Slot, Liverpool are building not just to retain its title, but one with emotional and structural depth behind it. 

What emerges is a group recalibrated for sustainability as much as silverware, with a quiet determination to honour what has been lost – not just with results, but clarity, cohesion and the kind of football this team now carries forward.

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