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Louise Thomas

Editor

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has cut four youngsters from the first-team squad ahead of the Reds’ Premier League opener with Ipswich Town.

Ben Doak, Tyler Morton, Lewis Koumas and Harvey Blair are expected to exit before the end of the summer transfer window, despite featuring on the club’s tour of the United States during preseason.

Doak, who started three Europa League matches last season, is likely to leave on loan to gain experience. According to the Express, Leicester City, Southampton and Brentford are interested in taking the 18-year-old on a season-long deal as the forward looks to regain momentum following injury, which saw him miss out on a Euro 2024 spot with Scotland.

Liverpool may seek a permanent transfer for Morton, who made 39 appearances on loan at Hull City last campaign and is reportedly attracting interest from Ipswich, Bournemouth and Southampton.

At 21 years old the defensive midfielder doesn’t look set to break into Slot’s senior plans, especially with the club reportedly seeking to land Spanish midfielder Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. Liverpool value Morton at £20m, according to the Daily Mail, a sizeable chunk of Zubimendi’s release clause of around £50m.

Morton, Koumas and Blair all scored in Liverpool Under-21s’ 5-2 victory over Ipswich U21s on Wednesday afternoon, a reminder of their quality at a pivotal time in the transfer window for Slot, who is yet to sign anyone since taking over from Jurgen Klopp.

With Joel Matip’s exit on a free and Thiago Alcantara retiring, there’s leadership roles to be filled within Slot’s selection, especially when taking into account the huge gap left by Fabinho’s departure a year ago. Wataru Endo, while offering some quality performances, doesn’t fill the No. 6 role with the Brazilian’s presence.

Zubimendi’s tidiness and ability to dictate the ball makes him a natural fit with Slot’s possession-based style, although it remains to be seen if Liverpool can convince the Euro 2024 winner to exit Sociedad when other clubs have failed before.

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