Five losers from Liverpool’s pre-season Tour; Including injuries, circumstances & rejections

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Before we begin, it’s important to note that these ‘losers’ are not necessarily to blame. They haven’t necessarily done anything wrong, but their position in Liverpool’s squad, for whatever reason, is less promising or secured than it was before we flew out to the states. 

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Loris Karius

With Simon Mignolet given an extended break following Belgium’s involvement at the Euros, Karius was given the opportunity to make the spot between the posts his own. And after clean-sheets throughout the English friendlies before the Tour, he’d done just that – largely impressing supporters. Sadly though he broke his hand against Chelsea, meaning Mignolet will start the season – just as he has done the past three campaigns – much to the disappointment of fans. Now, Karius will begin his Reds career on the bench when he returns from injury, as it’s not easy to change a keeper.

Mamadou Sakho

The most obvious name on this list. The Frenchman went on Tour despite an achilles injury which was going to keep him out of the fixtures, but was sent home due to repeated lateness. Pretty embarrassing for a full French international, former PSG captain and Liverpool fan favourite. After the doping scandal, Sakho needed to keep his head down. He now has a lot of work to do to prove himself to Jurgen Klopp again.

Joel Matip

The Cameroonian headed stateside as maybe our first-choice centre-back, but he has an injury to his ankle which is proving very difficult to shake off. He didn’t feature in any of the friendlies and watched Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan form a potentially decent partnership – one we expect to see on Premier League opening weekend against Arsenal. Matip will now have to get fit and wait for his opportunity, instead.

Christian Benteke

The Belgian was told to report to California, but it seems it was in an attempt to force him out of the club. Benteke’s indicated he wants to stay, but Klopp didn’t use him at all – suggesting he’ll be on the sidelines for an entire season unless he agrees a transfer elsewhere. Crystal Palace are still interested, and the powerhouse forward would be foolish to turn down their advances.

Danny Ings

Ings has done well during the summer, but Klopp’s team-sheets definitely suggest he’s going to be used as an impact substitute instead of being given an opportunity as a starter. Whenever the boss has deployed the first-choice attacking midfielders such as Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane, Ings has remained on the bench – and brought on with the squad players like Lazar Markovic. This shows he’s not being blooded with in a first-choice XI. We felt Ings deserved a chance to prove himself and battle for a starting spot, but the boss seems happy with Sturridge and Origi.

More Stories Christian Benteke Danny Ings Joel Matip Mamadou Sakho Simon Mignolet