Midfield doubts, Rocky visit and Slot's hands-on sessions: Liverpool's U.S. tour (2024)

Three games, three wins, six goals scored, just one conceded and no injuries.

No wonder new head coach Arne Slot declared himself satisfied with Liverpool’s pre-season trip to the United States.

“Very positive,” he said.

“The results are what everybody is looking at, but players stayed fit and performed in the way we want. We saw some great goals during this tour, some great build-up situations and I see them working really hard not to concede.”

The Athletic was there every step of the way, from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia to Columbia, to assess the Dutchman’s impact following the dawn of a new era at Anfield.

What’s clicking? What issues still need to be addressed? The Premier League opener at promoted Ipswich Town is now less than a fortnight away.

As if the challenge of succeeding Jurgen Klopp wasn’t big enough, Slot has also had to deal with the absence of most of his star names in pre-season following Euro 2024 and the Copa America.

But arguably the biggest positive from the tour was the sight of the players available to him embracing the changes he’s made to Liverpool’s style of play. The improvement during the three matches was significant.

“It’s a lot different — it’s more about in possession,” said Harvey Elliott, one of the standout performers after being given the No 10 role he craved. “It’s an elegant Dutch style. The players are really excited about certain patterns we’re playing. There’s a buzz around the team.”

Fellow midfielder Curtis Jones talked about Liverpool “no longer being in a rush to attack”. He added: “This is more me.”

Watching Slot oversee training at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia was an education. Whereas Klopp would step back as Pep Lijnders led the way in sessions, the former Feyenoord boss is much more hands-on.

“Kill them with passes…. move it,” he boomed. After whistling to stop the session, he asked Kostas Tsimikas to give him the ball so he could demonstrate the art of gesturing to run in behind, only to dart back and receive the ball into his feet. “Open your body and look for an inside run,” he said.

During one lengthy drill, 10 players tried to build attacks while being pressed by nine opponents. There was a clear emphasis on one-twos and getting overlaps before drilling crosses low across the six-yard box.

Fast forward to Saturday night in South Carolina. Liverpool’s third goal against Manchester United was a carbon copy of that drill as Conor Bradley combined with Mohamed Salah down the right, Diogo Jota’s shot was parried and Tsimikas tucked away the rebound.

Salah looks sharp after a proper summer break. This enables him to put a difficult end to last season firmly behind him. The same goes for Jota, whose momentum in 2023-24 was wrecked by injuries. With Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz to come back into contention, Slot knows he has some serious firepower.

As the wait for the first signing of the Slot era continues, the debate over the holding midfield role rumbles on. Will Liverpool buy a No 6? This trip will do little to silence those calling for one.

Wataru Endo was one of the few players who failed to show Slot what he is capable of. The Japan international doesn’t appear well suited to the Slot’s more patient, possession-based game plan.

Endo struggled after being handed a start against Real Betis. He then came on in the second half against Arsenal — Dominik Szoboszlai and Jones were preferred deeper, with Elliott more advanced.

With Szoboszlai rested against Manchester United due to fatigue, Slot turned to Ryan Gravenberch rather than Endo to start alongside Jones. It was telling that exciting 17-year-old Trey Nyoni, the pick of the youngsters on tour, came on after the break before Endo finally emerged.

Liverpool turned down an offer of £11.9million ($15.2m) from Marseille, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if Endo departs this month.

Gravenberch did well in his first outing of pre-season as he looks to build on a mixed first campaign at Anfield following his £34.2million move from Bayern Munich. He’s an interesting alternative there — classy in possession but sometimes a lack of physicality lets him down. This is a big year for him.

Copa America winner Alexis Mac Allister linked up with his team-mates in South Carolina to join them on the journey home but wasn’t considered for selection against United. He’s a nailed-on starter when up to speed.

It will be Tuesday when Slot finally has his full squad together for the first time, with Virgil van Dijk, Gakpo, Diaz, Nunez, Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez also back on board.

He’s certainly not short of midfield options — youngsters Tyler Morton and Stefan Bajcetic also impressed in the U.S. — but Liverpool still lack a dynamic, specialist No 6.

That partly explained the lack of control Slot bemoaned against United. Goalkeepers Caoimhin Kelleher and Vitezslav Jaros, who took over in the second half, were kept busy. Liverpool were far too easy to play through at times.

“We gave away too many chances,” Slot admitted. “United deserved more than a 3-0 loss. The score could have been different.”

There’s still a lot to sort out in terms of outgoings.

Liverpool had 32 players in the U.S. by the end of the tour — with seven senior players still on holiday. Then you’ve got Jayden Danns and Bobby Clark, who missed the trip due to minor injury issues.

Having had time to assess what they inherited from Klopp, the clock is ticking for Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes to decide who stays and who goes either permanently or on loan.

Fabio Carvalho is worth a lot more than the £15million Liverpool rejected from Southampton. He couldn’t have done much more to force his way into Slot’s plans with goals against Arsenal and United, but it’s still hard to see him starting games when the cavalry return.

Long-serving Joe Gomez came close to joining Newcastle United for £45million in late June when talks were held about winger Anthony Gordon moving in the opposite direction. Gomez has other suitors, but Liverpool are not actively looking to move him on.

There are also big decisions for the club to make about Morton, Clark and Ben Doak. Nathaniel Phillips is destined to move on. Will the speculation over Diaz lead to any meaningful interest?

And what about Sepp van den Berg’s future? Liverpool have already turned down several bids that didn’t come close to their £20million valuation.

The young Dutch defender performed excellently in the U.S. as he showed how much he benefited from a productive season on loan at Mainz in Germany. He wants to play regularly, but that’s unlikely to happen at Liverpool. He has Van Dijk, Jarell Quansah, Ibrahima Konate and Gomez for competition. Quansah remains the leading candidate to partner Van Dijk.

Andy Robertson didn’t feature on the tour but did his rehab and is nearing full fitness after the ankle injury that has hampered him since the latter stages of last season and into the European Championship. Tsimikas did a decent job of deputising at left-back, while on the other flank, Bradley excelled in the absence of Alexander-Arnold.

Commercially, the tour was certainly a big success, with a combined total of more than 190,000 supporters attending Liverpool’s three matches as the popularity of the Premier League in the U.S. continues to rocket.

The modest crowd of 42,679 for the game against Real Betis in Pittsburgh could be explained by the fact it was a relatively late addition to the schedule, but the other two games were sell-outs.

The 69,879 attendance against Arsenal in Philadelphia was a record for football at Lincoln Financial Field. The 77,559 attendance in Columbia, South Carolina, was their highest for a non-American football event.

Philadelphia proved to be an excellent base, with the players loving their visit to the iconic Rocky Steps and the famous Front Street boxing gym where they were put through their paces in the ring. There was also a team-bonding trip to watch the baseball at Citizens Bank Park. After the win over Arsenal, Elliott swapped signed shirts and chatted with Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Avonte Maddox.

It was a big deal for the University of South Carolina to host Liverpool versus United. The atmosphere was lively, after fears of a delay due to heavy thunderstorms were alleviated, but the lack of transport infrastructure was a major issue.

With roads gridlocked, some fans who had paid hundreds of dollars for tickets were still trying to get inside the Williams-Brice Stadium just before half-time. It was a similar story after the game and with no taxis available, some were left with no option but to embark on the two-and-a-half-mile walk back into downtown Columbia as the rain lashed down.

The drenched Liverpool supporters at least had the satisfaction of celebrating an emphatic victory over United.

Two years ago, a heavy pre-season defeat to United in Bangkok set the tone for a difficult season. Slot will hope this triumph propels them forward.

The signs in the U.S. were certainly promising. Slot has the perfect platform to build on.

(Top photos: Getty Images)

James Pearce joins the Athletic after 14 years working for the Liverpool Echo. The dad-of-two has spent the past decade covering the fortunes of Liverpool FC across the globe to give fans the inside track on the Reds from the dressing room to the boardroom. Follow James on Twitter @JamesPearceLFC