Grief is a strange pre-season. Liverpool lace up ten days after losing Diogo Jota and his brother in a car crash; every run at Deepdale will feel like passing a bedroom light still on.
The game at Preston is less a friendly than a vigil with a scoreboard. Ritual matters: black armbands, a minute’s silence, hands on shoulders. In July, football can pause and listen.
Slot’s squad regrouped at the AXA Training Centre on July 8, the week after farewells in Gondomar. You don’t replace a person; you change the way you carry the weight. The first sessions were shorter, slower, honest. Managers talk about “load”; this one began with loss.
Amid the sorrow, business moves. Jarell Quansah has joined Bayer Leverkusen in a deal rising to £35m, with a buy-back clause tucked in Liverpool’s pocket.
It’s the right step for a young centre-back who needs minutes; it is also a bet that the door home will be open.
Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté and Joe Gomez remain pillars; Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch can be emergency cover, but the profile hunt continues.
Up front, noise grows around Luis Díaz. Reports in Germany say he has agreed personal terms with Bayern, while Barcelona watch the window for a slip. Liverpool will play the long game; two peak seasons now might be worth more than any fee later.
For supporters, identity is the rallying point. You show up, you sing, you carry No. 20.
Purpose returns one pass at a time.