Echo

Liverpool Notebook: Andoni Iraola unveiling set as Academy stars get USA tour chance

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While the bulk of the squad will have already been decided, Thursday's training session will have been extra intense if there were still one or two places on the plane up for grabs.Barnes: Elliott returns as a squad playerJohn Barnes believes the returning Harvey Elliott will find it tough to become a first-team regular under Andoni Iraola this coming campaign.Elliott is back training with his parent club after a stint at Aston Villa on loan that saw the midfielder pushed to the fringes after sporting director Monchi left just weeks after arranging the deal with the Reds.Villa agreed to pay £35m if Elliott made 10 appearances and with Morgan Rogers, Emi Buendia and Ross Barkley all ahead of him under Unai Emery in a squad that won the Europa League and finished fourth in the Premier League, the on-loan Liverpool man barely featured.Villa were acutely aware of their PSR situation, meaning Elliott became a victim of that predicament, with it being deemed not prudent to trigger the clause for someone who played in an area where they were well stocked.Now back at Anfield, Barnes thinks it will be difficult for the 23-year-old to break into the side under Iraola this coming campaign but thinks he could be a valuable player as a member of the wider squad.“He’ll be given a second chance to be a squad player as that’s what he’s been," Barnes told Betfred."If he decides that he wants to be a squad player for Liverpool and not play every week, then that’s fine, but I don’t believe he would come back and break into the starting eleven under Andoni Iraola."I’d like to see him back because he’s a good squad player and is somebody that won’t let you down, but if he wants to play every week, then Liverpool’s not the place for him to do that.”Simon on his Liverpool regretFormer Liverpool transfer target Moses Simon has opened up on his regret at not moving to Anfield in 2018.Then aged 22, Simon was on the Reds' radar as they continued their recruitment drive and was rated at around £10m by Belgian side Gent.However, Simon stayed in Belgium and Liverpool eventually signed Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke City in a £12m deal.Speaking on Urban Dwell Sport, Simon said: “From 2016 to 2018, I dropped in form because I wanted to make a transfer.“Liverpool wanted to sign me, I think Hull City, Fulham, Brighton, Tottenham, and Lyon also. So the first year, I didn’t make it.



I didn’t get a transfer. It didn’t work.“In my head, I was like: ‘Is it the agent or the club?

I don’t want to play.’ So I was putting it in my head: ‘Whether I play or I don’t play, I don’t care. I think if I don't play, the club will find a way quickly to sell me'.“The club bought me for €1million, but after one year, they wanted €25million.”Moses added: “If I was an experienced player, I would push for everything because the more you play, the more market value you have.“So every young player out there, whether there’s a rumour or no rumour, just give everything.“A transfer can come, and you go.