LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, April 30, 2019: Liverpool's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain during a training session at Melwood Training Ground ahead of the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg match between FC Barcelona and Liverpool FC. (Pic by Laura Malkin/Propaganda)

Liverpool confirm 16-man squad to return to Melwood for 1st day of pre-season

Liverpool will have 16 first-team players back at Melwood on Saturday, as Jurgen Klopp and his backroom staff oversee preparations for the 2019/20 campaign.

The Reds begin with a depleted squad due to summer internationals and, for some, ongoing tournaments, which rule out the majority of Klopp’s key men.

Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are both still at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Alisson and Roberto Firmino are gearing up for the Copa America final on Sunday.

Fabinho was left out of the Brazil squad, however, and is among the 16-man squad Liverpool have confirmed to be back in training this weekend.

Joel Matip, Joe Gomez, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Adam Lallana are among the senior names involved, while last season’s loanees Nathaniel Clyne, Harry Wilson and Ryan Kent are included.

New signing Sepp van den Berg and fellow Dutch defender Ki-Jana Hoever are in, while an unfamiliar name for some is Colombian full-back Anderson Arroyo.

Arroyo is yet to receive a UK work permit, and therefore the 19-year-old has spent the last two seasons on loan with Real Mallorca and KAA Gent.

There is a noticeable lack of goalkeepers in the group, but Caoimhin Kelleher should back in time for the first friendly of the summer.

Liverpool begin their warmup at Tranmere Rovers on July 11, before a trip to Bradford City on July 14, ahead of the tour of the United States.

The likes of Jordan Henderson, Andy Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Gini Wijnaldum and Naby Keita are expected back for that three-stop jaunt across the Atlantic, during which the Reds play Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla and Sporting CP.


Liverpool Squad Back for Pre-Season on Saturday

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, April 16, 2019: Liverpool's manager J¸rgen Klopp shakes a smile with his squad during a training session at Melwood Training Ground ahead of the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg match between FC Porto and Liverpool FC. (Pic by Laura Malkin/Propaganda)

Defenders: Joel Matip, Joe Gomez, Sepp van den Berg, Ki-Jana Hoever, Nathaniel Phillips, Nathaniel Clyne, Anderson Arroyo

Midfielders: Fabinho, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Ben Woodburn, Curtis Jones

Forwards: Rhian Brewster, Ryan Kent, Harry Wilson