Liverpool are not expected to do any major business in the January transfer window, but the two young players linked with loan moves have both trained on the eve of Lille’s Champions League visit.
Arne Slot and his team reconvened at the AXA Training Center on Monday after a dramatic late win at Brentford, with Joe Gomez and Diogo Jota being notable absentees.
The latter complained after a cameo appearance for Forest and subsequently missed the weekend’s game, and now looks unlikely to feature at Anfield on Tuesday after missing training.
However, Jayden Danns and James McConnell attended the session as their names continue to be linked with possible loan moves for the remainder of the season.
At the beginning of this month mail‘s Lewis Steele reports that both are being considered temporary replacements after their hopes were dashed by injuries in the summer.
Slot recently outlined the dilemma facing Liverpool as he discussed Danns’ future in the context of Jota’s recent injury setbacks. This is because long-term requirements must also be considered.
Both Danns and McConnell have been linked with Championship clubs but remain at Liverpool for now. Off the bench involvement on Tuesday is questionable.
Tyler Morton is another man with a question mark over his future after admitting it was time to be “selfish” about his next step, but he too trained with the first team on Monday.
And it sure was a very cold afternoon in Kirkby!
Fortunately, there were no surprise absences for the Reds as they included every player who featured for Brentford, including match-winning hero Darwin Nunez.
The Uruguayan will be one of the few players hoping to be named in the starting line-up against Lille after making just one start in the club’s last six games.
Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Wataru Endo, Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah are also looking to get involved, but it remains to be seen how strong the slot is against a Lille side who are unbeaten in 21 games.
The Liverpool manager is expected to give some hints when he speaks to journalists at 3.30pm (GMT) on Monday.
Liverpool squad in training on Monday
goalkeeper: Alisson, Kelleher, Jaros, Davis
Defender: Van Dijk, Konate, Kwansa, Alexander-Arnold, Bradley, Robertson, Tsimikas.
Midfielder: Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, MacAllister, Jones, Elliott, Endo, McConnell, Morton, Nyoni
transmission: Salah, Gakpo, Diaz, Nunez, Chiesa, Dans
