2 weeks ago
73
If last season saw Liverpool finding comfort in familiarity, this time the Reds are hoping for a boost from the thrill of novelty.
The cohort of summer signings who've made their way to the Far East was joined on Thursday by Hugo Ekitike, following the completion of his transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt. The influx of new talent may not stop there, with the Reds eyeing Newcastle striker Alexander Isak in what could be a record-breaking British transfer, and the addition of a new center-back is still very much on the cards.
For each player, it's a significant leap in their career and, alongside fitting into a new squad, they also face the challenge of meeting the high expectations that come with playing for one of the world's top clubs.
Andy Robertson, who joined from Hull in 2017 and took several months to make a solid breakthrough into the first team, is all too familiar with the hurdles that lie ahead.
Now, as part of the squad's leadership group, Robertson recognizes the role that the more seasoned players have during their time in Hong Kong and later Japan.
"The lads already have settled in really well," he told Liverpool's website.
"Obviously Hugo has just come in, but Jeremie (Frimpong), Milos (Kerkez), Gio (Mamardashvili), Flo (WIrtz) have all really settled in quite quickly, and it's as if they've been here for months now, which is pleasing.
"It's just up to them to then understand the standards of playing with Liverpool, and I think they're getting to grips with that already.
"When you look at the four older players or the leaders, with me, Ali (Becker), Virg (Van Dijk), and Mo (Salah), then we take that upon ourselves to try to let them settle in as easy as possible, try to integrate them into the squad as quickly as possible.
"You know how important that is, especially when they're coming from different countries, different cultures, and things like that. It's just about trying to get them up to speed as quickly as possible.
"We take great pride in that. We were all young before, we've all needed help going into squads. We still help the young lads as much as we can.
"When it is new players, helping them settle in – finding houses, even just getting them settled with their family, because we know how important that is – it's so important."
Robertson added: "On the pitch, they kind of look after themselves – they've got so much quality and they're so good. That's the pleasing thing.
"Off the field, it's about making sure they're not sitting alone, making sure they're getting to know each other.
"These trips are so important; we're in the hotel, we're all away from our families, away from our kids, and it's important that we spend a lot of time getting to know each other and things like that. And we've done a lot of that."
English (US) ·