Liverpool pre-season 2023: Hype for start of season builds

Pre-season is officially here and the hype for the season is starting to build already as we see more of our old favourites and first glimpses into the start of two new careers.

Alexis Mac Allister recently joined in a bargain move from Brighton. Liverpool quietly wrapped up a £35M move for a World Cup winner with the elegance of an attacking midfielder that now has a plethora of stunning attacking options in front of him.

The Argentine scored 13 goals and assisted four for club and country in 2022/23.

While those aren't mind-boggling stats, the underlying stats we'll get into in a moment should have Liverpool fans wanting to see the Reds get back to high-octane attacking football very. very excited.

Despite the brilliance of Mac Allister, the arrival of Dominik Szoboszlai has dominated the talk of the town (mostly Twitter).

It's not surprising, either. Liverpool recruiting players from the likes of RB Salzburg and RB Leipzig is not an accident. From their football philosophy to their recruitment profile, the Reds have seen enough to sign the likes of Naby Keita, Ibrahima Konate and Takumi Minamino.

Szoboszlai is an absolute diamond of a player. How Jurgen Klopp will use him remains to be seen but he ticks all the boxes physically, technically and definitely mentally.

The 22-year-old scored 10 goals and assisted 13 last season, as per Transfermarkt, which far outstrips the midfielders at Klopp's disposal last season.

Liverpool ended last season with Trent Alexander-Arnold showcasing his suitability to a midfielder role due to necessity. The potential arrival of a third midfield signing means the 24-year-old will likely spend most of his time at fullback.

However, if Szoboszlai is to occupy a right-midfield role as he did in Germany, Trent will have the Hungarian's industry to support his attacking forays where he can be of the most use to Liverpool.

Despite the fortunes of the side last season, he still contributed 14 goal contributions from full-back. Whichever way you want to look at it, that remains an elite bragging right.

I'll admit this article was inspired by a tweet I saw this morning from Watch LFC.

Mac Allister and Nunez meet each other for the first time as Liverpool players

With 14 new Liverpool players reporting for their first training session of pre-season 2023 there were plenty of new interactions between our two new signings and the rest of the squad.

Alexis Mac Allister and Darwin Nunez  will thrive together

The one that most excites me is the potential an attacking partnership between Mac Allister and Darwin Nunez. The latter had a stop-start beginning to his Liverpool career last season, but the signs were promising.

There were cracks appearing at Liverpool before the Uruguayan arrived so it's fair to cut him some slack. His 15 goals and four assists was an impressive first season given he had a few niggling injuries as well.

Nunez caught my eye with his attacking movements behind defenders which I believe will yield at least a few goals directly from Mac Allister's passing.

The Argentine ranks in the 94th percentile of midfielders for through balls. While he might not be the player that plays the final pass, his ability to unlock an attack from deep positions is quite reminiscent of another Liverpool midfielder, Thiago Alcantara.

Nunez could be the main beneficiary of these passes - especially when making incisive runs from the left flank. There isn't a player at Anfield that matches the Uruguayan's aggression when attacking space behind opposition defences.

His goal against Newcastle at St. James' Park is a perfect example. The pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold is outrageously good and Nunez reacts with predatory instincts to race into the space that Kieran Trippier created with his hesitation.

The finish was ruthless. If he can do this more often, he could compete with Mohamed Salah as the club top scorer.

Finishing touches from Liverpool in the transfer market are needed

Pre-season has barely even begun and already fans have moved on from the disappointment of last season.

Despite the lack of silverware and Champions League qualification, it was always clear that a lack of investment had allowed an elite group of players to become stagnant.

With the signing of Mac Allister and Szoboszlai, there is already a feeling that this squad can threaten everybody.

Of course, there are still a few issues in the overall depth of the squad with four midfielders leaving with only two coming in so far.

James Milner, Naby Keita, Arthur Melo and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all departed upon the expiry of their agreements with the club while Arthur left when his loan deal expired, heading back to Juventus.

If the Reds can another midfielder and another centre-back, the squad will be well equipped to bounce back from last season with a bang.