Liverpool’s first team are set to be joined by two players who are yet to train under Jurgen Klopp when they report back for pre-season next month.
The Reds are expected back at Melwood in the first week of July, ahead of their opening friendly of the summer at Tranmere Rovers on July 11.
That is one of eight currently scheduled, including a tour of the United States and trips to Edinburgh and Geneva, which comes during a training camp in France.
Klopp’s squad are set to report for duty at a staggered rate, with the likes of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah in international action throughout the summer and likely to require a later return date.
As ever, this could provide some fringe figures valuable game time in the initial friendlies with a view to impressing the manager.
Two who could look to catch Klopp’s eye in training are Anderson Arroyo and Taiwo Awoniyi, who are still unfamiliar with the senior squad.
According to Goal‘s Neil Jones, the pair are in line to join the sessions at Melwood after their respective loan spells in Belgium this season.
Arroyo spent the campaign with KAA Gent, performing for their under-21s, while Awoniyi was with the same side for the first half of 2018/19 before switching to Royal Excel Mouscron.
Both have been ineligible for a UK work permit, and are unlikely to qualify again this summer, therefore should leave before the start of the new season.
Nigerian striker Awoniyi is attracting interest for a permanent deal, with Schalke having already made an enquiry and Mainz, Hertha Berlin, Club Brugge, Metz, Nice and Toulouse all monitoring the situation.
Meanwhile Arroyo, a 19-year-old full-back who was part of the Colombia squad at this summer’s U20 World Cup, is expected to head out on another loan.
Whether their appearance at Melwood is an encouraging sign for their futures remains to be seen, though it should be noted that Allan Rodrigues has been in a similar situation in the past.
The Brazilian ended his loan at Eintracht Frankfurt early in February before joining Fluminense on a short-term deal, and has set his sights on staying in Brazil.
Regardless, it will be interesting to see Awoniyi and Arroyo train with the Liverpool senior squad for the first time, with the duo rarely even visiting the training ground since their arrivals in 2015 and 2018 respectively.
