James Pearce has hinted at the probability of one notable addition to Liverpool’s pre-season schedule this summer.
The attention of the footballing world is currently fixed on Euro 2024 and the Copa America, both of which begin over the next few days and culminate in mid-July, at which point the new club season will again come into focus.
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The Reds are currently scheduled to play three friendlies in a tour of USA, taking on Real Betis (26 July), Arsenal (31 July) and Manchester United (3 August), although that transatlantic triple header is unlikely to form the entirety of the warm-up schedule for Arne Slot’s first campaign at the club.
In an article for The Athletic on Tuesday, Pearce wrote: “More friendly dates will be added to the schedule, with one likely to be played at Anfield after the tour of the States.”
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Liverpool typically end their pre-season preparations with a friendly at Anfield, although their ‘home’ game to wrap up the warm-up schedule last summer (against Darmstadt) took place at Deepdale in Preston due to construction work to the Anfield Road Stand as its capacity was expanded.
As it stands, the Reds will have just under two weeks free before the 2024/25 Premier League commences on 17 August, so it indeed seems very likely that another game or two will be added to the calendar after they play United in South Carolina.
Jurgen Klopp’s final pre-season in charge of LFC involved five matches, with two each in Germany and Singapore before returning to England, and Slot will probably like to have a similar number of games this summer in order to implement his ideas to a squad who haven’t worked with him before.
By this time next week, we’ll know the composition of the fixtures for the Dutchman’s first campaign in the Premier League. If further friendly dates are duly added, the calendar will well and truly take shape for when the international tournaments are over and the spotlight is again shone on the club scene.
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