Arne Slot shares what ‘surprised’ him about Liverpool’s youngsters after seeing them in training

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Liverpool’s pre-season so far has been marked by an absence of most of the Reds starting XI.

It was never going to be easy for whoever was the manager this summer. Liverpool have simply had too many players away.

In hindsight then, it was perhaps not the best planning for Jurgen Klopp to walk away from Anfield in a Copa America and European Championship summer.

Nevertheless, Arne Slot is making the most of it. With bigger names away, the three weeks of pre-season so far have allowed him to get a look at players from the Liverpool academy.

With so many youngsters on show back at the AXA Training Centre, and some now travelling with the first-team squad to the USA, Slot has had time to formulate an opinion.

Arne Slot shares thoughts on Liverpool youngsters

More senior members of the Liverpool squad are starting to slowly filter back in to begin their work with Slot.

Diogo Jota joined up with the group on Thursday, while the head coach also confirmed that both Ibrahima Konate and Ryan Gravenberch will arrive in the US at some stage, too.

It had been expected that Alisson Becker may join the tour as well, but Slot reported on Thursday that the Brazilian will meet the team back on Merseyside instead.

In the meantime, some youngsters will be feeling like it’s now or never to make an impression this summer.

READ MORE: Liverpool send ‘incredible’ youngster out on-loan but may still recall him

Many of them will surely get some minutes during Saturday’s game against Real Betis and it appears that Slot is very happy to trust them in that.

“Many young players joined us here and there are a few that surprised me – in a positive way of course,” the Dutchman said in his pre-match press conference.

However, anticipating a follow-up question, Slot would not be drawn into naming names and putting pressure on his young stars.

“But if your next question would be who they are, then you’re not going to get an answer!” he laughed.

Who could be impressing Arne Slot?

With so many young players involved in the US, it’s difficult to say exactly who Slot will have been referring to here.

From what we’ve seen of the training videos, Conor Bradley has looked electric, but then Slot will likely already have been well aware of the 21-year-old.

Instead, there may be some players who come almost out of the blue to catch the 45-year-old’s eye.

We think Luca Stephenson could be a surprise package in the US. The midfielder has never previously been around the first-team much but did enough to convince Slot to take him on the tour.

As senior players start to return with more frequency, the answer to this will become much clearer when Liverpool return home. Whoever is kept around the squad, they’re the ones to watch.