Liverpool began pre-season testing at the AXA Training Centre on Tuesday, with Mohamed Salah and new signing Jeremie Frimpong among the first to arrive.
Tributes were laid at the gates of the AXA Training Centre for the late Diogo Jota, whose sad death prompted the club to delay the start of pre-season.
With players and staff travelling to Portugal for the striker’s funeral last week, plans for a phased return from Friday were pushed back to Tuesday.
It remains to be seen if the full squad is due back to Kirkby on the same day, though a number have already been pictured arriving at the training ground.
Salah was among those spotted reporting back to work along with Frimpong, who will officially begin life as a Liverpool player following his £29.5 million move from Bayer Leverkusen.
Andy Robertson, Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez and Wataru Endo were also seen at the AXA, with Arne Slot‘s fitness staff expected to begin initial tests before ball work can resume.
Coverage of Liverpool’s pre-season is unlikely to run as usual following Jota’s passing, with a more low-key atmosphere to be anticipated.
Slot will still welcome at least five new players to his squad, with Frimpong joined by record signing Florian Wirtz, left-back Milos Kerkez and goalkeepers Giorgi Mamardashvili and Freddie Woodman.
Armin Pecsi, the 20-year-old goalkeeper signed from Puskas Akademia, is also likely to join the first-team squad despite plans to represent the U21s next season.
The majority of the senior squad attended Jota’s funeral in Gondomar on Saturday, though Salah was not among those pictured at a ceremony held in the hometown of his teammate and brother Andre Silva.
Tributes to Diogo Jota outside the AXA Training Centre this morning ahead of LFC’s first day of pre-season training. pic.twitter.com/IgVV90Md5c
— Jamie Greer (@jamiemgreer) July 8, 2025
In a tribute on Instagram, the Egyptian wrote: “I am truly lost for words.
“Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break.
“Team mates come and go but not like this. It’s going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won’t be there when we go back.
“My thoughts are with his wife, his children, and of course his parents who suddenly lost their children.
“Those close to Diogo and his brother Andre need all the support they can get. They will never be forgotten.”
Fitness tests first up
Players will be put under the microscope early on with the six-minute race test (6MRT), which replaced the dreaded lactate test in Slot’s first summer in charge.
Ruben Peeters, the first-team lead physical performance coach, oversaw the change which asks players to run as fast as possible for six minutes around what is usually a 400-metre track.
It evaluates maximal aerobic speed, and the performance staff can use the data to plan accordingly based on each player’s results.
In simpler terms, it assesses aerobic endurance fitness, which is the ability of the body to use oxygen as an energy source.
The club’s fitness staff are looking for each player’s base fitness level after their summer break, with everyone individually assessed with the 6MRT and more.
When are Liverpool’s pre-season friendlies?
Liverpool have six pre-season games confirmed in three different countries, and are due to meet two English clubs, plus each one from Italy, Japan and Spain:
No decision, however, has been made on if the first against Preston on Sunday will go ahead:
Preston (Deepdale) – July 13
AC Milan (Hong Kong) – July 26
Yokohama FM (Japan) – July 30
Athletic Club (Anfield double-header) – August 4
Crystal Palace (Community Shield) – August 10
Liverpool’s meeting with Athletic Club is a double-header at Anfield, with the first match kicking off at 5pm and the next to follow at 8pm – it precedes a trip to Wembley for the Community Shield.
