Liverpool’s nutritionist Mona Nemmer has spoken on how she has helped Fabinho and Naby Keïta – among others – settle in at the club.
Costing the club a combined total that is near £100m, the two midfielders have caused quite a lot of excitement since they started pre-season. The pair showed a glimpse of what can be expected next season in a friendly against Chester.
Both players have been welcomed by all those at the club with open arms and after undergoing extensive tests at the start of the pre-season campaign, nutritionist Mona Nemmer has offered her services to both Fabinho and Keïta.
Speaking to the club’s official website, she explained how she is able to assist new signings settle in.
“When [new] players arrive here at Melwood everything is new to them and there are a lot of things to do and a lot of people to get to know,” Nemmer told Liverpool’s official website.
“When I meet them, first I introduce myself and what our department has to offer, [and tell them] that the door is always open for them. And then there is a situation where they try to find out and we talk.
“It’s not only the nutritional support in terms of consulting conversations, it’s more about things like they’re moving into a new house, so do they need some equipment? Is the fridge full already? Where is the nearest place they can buy food? Do they need to take packed food from here?
“So at the end, it’s like trying to welcome them in every way, not just with the nutrition. And of course, with the tests we are doing, the measurements we are doing, we get a closer idea about what could be an individual need or issue that we can support or help or getting an improvement.
“We don’t want to overdo it, but the fact is we are all so close together here and they are eating four times a day here, so it’s sometimes quite easy to approach them. We can say: ‘Hello, what do you need? How do you feel? How is it going today? Are you suffering from the last training session?’
“It’s so great that I’m here every day, so we don’t need to make big appointments and it doesn’t feel forced on the players so they don’t think: ‘Oh, I have to see the nutritionist now and I have to tell her that I’ve eaten a piece of chocolate’! I think that’s quite a big advantage from this environment here.”