For many Liverpool’s loanees, pre-season is already over and the final preparations for the campaign are in place, so what has happened so far?
Liverpool have almost two weeks until they kick off the Premier League season against Chelsea, but that is not the case for many of those out on loan.
Instead, this week brings the opening game of the campaign for most, while two others have already played their first competitive games.
Owen Beck is one of those, and on Sunday the left-back endured a frustrating exit from the Viaplay Cup with Dundee FC.
A 1-0 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle saw him come up against a former Liverpool team-mate in Luis Longstaff, but despite victory in his third outing on loan, his side dropped out at the group stage.
Elsewhere, Dominic Corness was an unused substitute in Yverdon Sport’s 2-2 draw with Young Boys, but made his Swiss Super League debut earlier in July.
That – his first-ever professional appearance – came off the bench in a 2-0 defeat to FC Zurich, with it likely that the 20-year-old midfielder is eased into the starting lineup.
Fabio Carvalho has been a regular in RB Leipzig’s pre-season friendlies so far, though his most recent appearance brought a 1-0 defeat to Championship side Ipswich.
For Calvin Ramsay, pre-season has brought an opportunity to build up his minutes, with substitute outings against Aberdeen, Fleetwood and Stockport so far.
But Aberdeen loanee Rhys Williams has seen his progress halted by a persistent back injury that has caused further issues in his calves.
Williams has not been involved since that 2-0 loss to Ramsay’s Preston, and has now been ruled out of Aberdeen’s league opener against Livingston on Saturday.
Sepp van den Berg has recovered from an injury of his own and Wednesday brought his return to training with Mainz, whose Bundesliga campaign does not start until a trip to Union Berlin on August 20.
Pre season done, ready to go ????? pic.twitter.com/xs3bfvCvlz
— James Balagizi ????? (@jamesbalagizi) July 29, 2023
Three players who have fixtures this weekend, though, are James Balagizi, Harvey Davies and Adam Lewis.
Balagizi impressed in his friendly outings at Wigan, including a first start in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Morecambe that saw him play a key role in Thelo Aasgaard’s opener.
Crewe Alexandra have seen goalkeeper Davies take the No. 1 spot and impress ahead of their League Two opener against Mansfield, while Lewis made his return to Newport and could start in their trip to Accrington Stanley.
Finally, Anderson Arroyo has begun life with FC Andorra in Spain, and started in a 2-1 win over Gimnastic Tarragona on Saturday.
Liverpool loan fixtures this week
• Sepp van den Berg (Mainz) vs. St Gallen – Friendly – Tuesday 3pm
• Anderson Arroyo (FC Andorra) vs. Huesca – Friendly – Friday 6pm
• Fabio Carvalho (RB Leipzig) vs. Las Palmas – Friendly – Saturday 2.30pm
• Calvin Ramsay (Preston) vs. Bristol City – Championship – Saturday 3pm
• James Balagizi (Wigan) vs. Derby – Championship – Saturday 3pm
• Harvey Davies (Crewe) vs. Mansfield – League Two – Saturday 3pm
• Owen Beck (Dundee) vs. Motherwell – Scottish Championship – Saturday 3pm
• Adam Lewis (Newport) vs. Accrington Stanley – League Two – Saturday 3pm
• Dom Corness (Yverdon) vs. Lausanne – Swiss Super League – Sunday 1.15pm
Injured: Rhys Williams
