2) Joe Gomez
It’s hard to believe that some fans were moaning when an unknown Championship defender was signed earlier this summer. But Gomez’s £3.5m arrival represented the ‘non-marquee’ signing that has grown to frustrate many Reds. His form shown in the first three matches of pre-season however will have completely shut any doubters up. Gomez shone on the right of defence first up, displaying a physical maturity that belies his age – before shifting to left-back versus the two Australian sides – and arguably doing even better. Gomez is composed on the ball, skilful, quick and positions himself excellently. All this, and he’s actually naturally a centre-back. We have another supremely talented youngster on our hands, Reds.
1) James Milner
Because we signed him on a Bosman, Manchester City essentially gave us £49m plus James Milner for Raheem Sterling this summer – which sounds like pretty outstanding business. One of the reasons the multi-capped 29-year-old chose us was a promise of central midfield football, and he’s been used in the middle three alongside Henderson, ahead of an anchorman so far. And from this position, he’s done everything expected of him and more. Providing box-to-box intensity, Milner’s provided countless, sprayed long passes to supplement incomparable work-rate. On top of this, he’s managed to get himself in the opposition box and score two goals as well – making the kind of central runs that typified Steven Gerrard before his legs went and he dropped deeper. Many were crying out for a direct Gerrard replacement this summer, but in Milner – hopefully we have one.