Andoni Iraola isn't here to put on a show — not yet, anyway. Liverpool's new head coach is using the opening stretch of their US pre-season tour to work in private, with no open training sessions scheduled and temperatures in Illinois pushing the limits of what players can physically absorb. The cameras stay outside. The sessions stay hard.
The Reds landed in Chicago earlier this week, using Chicago Fire's Endeavour Health Performance Centre as their base, before a schedule that takes them through Nashville (vs Sunderland), New York (vs Wrexham at Yankee Stadium on July 30), and back to Chicago to face Leeds United on August 2. Three games, two weeks, and a coaching staff trying to embed a new identity while half the squad is still on holiday.
Bradley and Ekitike in the squad — but don't read too much into it
Monday's 31-man squad announcement raised immediate questions when Conor Bradley and Hugo Ekitike appeared on the list. Both are carrying long-term injuries. So are Stefan Bajcetic and Wataru Endo, who also made the trip.
None of the four are expected to feature in the friendlies. The decision to bring them is straightforward: two weeks training alone at an empty AXA Training Centre does nothing for morale or momentum. Being around the group does. That's the logic, and it's sound — even if it disappointed anyone expecting a Bradley comeback timeline.
Their availability for the Premier League opener remains unclear, and with four players in various stages of rehab, Liverpool's early-season defensive depth deserves close attention from anyone pricing up their first month of fixtures.
World Cup returners and Szoboszlai's new deal
The bigger selection question hanging over Iraola is when his World Cup contingent arrives. Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, and Cody Gakpo all exited the tournament on June 29 or 30. Liverpool gives players three weeks off post-tournament, which puts their possible return right around the second week of this tour. Iraola is expected to clarify timelines when he speaks to media on Monday evening (9pm BST).
In the meantime, Dominik Szoboszlai is here, fit, and apparently motivated. His new contract — running to 2031, agreed after talks that began in October last year and accelerated last week through sporting director Richard Hughes — cements him as one of the club's core players. He was one of the few whose level held last season when others around him dropped off, and talk of a vice-captaincy role has started circulating.
His agent, Matyas Esterhazy, pushed back firmly on any suggestion the deal came with leadership conditions attached. "A great leader does not ask for leadership," Esterhazy told winwin.com. "Leadership comes to you when you are a leader." Whether or not Szoboszlai gets the armband in Van Dijk's absence, the renewal itself sends a clear message about where Liverpool see him fitting over the next half-decade.
