Liverpool Return to Play First Game after Jota’s Death

The pre-season in 2025 will be a time that all fans with Liverpool tickets will remember with grief and sadness as they come to terms with the untimely death of their beloved player Diogo Jota. 

Jota, 28, was killed in a horrific car crash along with his brother, just weeks after marrying his lifelong partner, Rute Cardoso. 

Football lovers all around the world came together at this tragic moment in time to console the Jota family as the final remains of the two siblings were laid to rest. 

For Liverpool fans this season, it will be a tough passage. For years, those with Liverpool tickets have seen the likes of the number 20 Hersey, and now they will have to make peace with life after Jota’s demise. 

The club initially pushed back their pre-season return with the passing away, and are finally regrouping ahead of the season. 

Liverpool Players Return

Liverpool’s players are set to report back to the AXA Training Centre for the start of pre-season on Tuesday (July 8) following the tragic death of Diogo Jota. 

The majority of Arne Slot’s first-team squad attended the funeral of Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, in Gondomar on Saturday (July 5).

The brothers were killed in a car crash in the early hours of Thursday morning after their vehicle veered off the road following a tyre blowout. They had been travelling across Spain to catch a ferry to travel back to Merseyside for the start of the Reds’ pre-season.

Liverpool decided to postpone the start of their pre-season training schedule following Jota’s passing.

Slot’s squad were instead granted extra time off to process the devastating news of their team-mate’s passing, with the majority of players travelling to Portugal to attend his funeral.

But the squad will now report back to the AXA Training Centre for the start of their pre-season preparations on Tuesday (July 8).

Liverpool’s first friendly of the summer is currently due to take place next Sunday (July 13) against Preston North End at Deepdale. However, a decision on whether the match will proceed has not yet been made.

A decision will only be made once the group have reported back for pre-season training and after all players and staff have been consulted as they grieve for a close friend and colleague.

Preston are currently making preparations in anticipation of the game going ahead, in what would be their first home friendly of the summer.

Jarrel Quansah Leaves Liverpool 

Jarell Quansah has completed a move from Liverpool to Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth up to £35m.

A report from Sky Sports added that the fee is an initial £30m guaranteed plus £5m in easily achievable add-ons.

Liverpool is understood to have secured a buy-back clause in the deal for a pre-agreed fee.

Quansah made 25 appearances in all competitions for the Reds last season, helping them win the Premier League, having made his senior debut under Jurgen Klopp in 2023.

In total, he made 53 senior appearances for Liverpool, scoring three goals and winning the Carabao Cup in the 2023/24 season.

He makes his move to Bayer Leverkusen, now managed by former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag, having played a key role in England’s U21 European Championship success in Slovakia.

He has signed a five-year contract, and the deal represents the third between Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen this summer, following the transfers of Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong in the opposite direction.

The deal to sell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen is considered “the best of all worlds” at Anfield.

The Reds did not expect Quansah to play regularly next season, and, given his age and the fact that he performed so well at the U21 Euros for England, he needs to play regularly.

A move to Leverkusen will provide him with valuable experience and an opportunity to further develop his considerable skill set. It also gives Leverkusen a centre-back who has the potential to make a significant impact on the Bundesliga.

And, by way of the buy-back clause, it affords Liverpool the security of knowing they retain an option on the future of a player they still rate highly.

Liverpool continues to be linked with centre-backs, and the club is aware that this will likely be the case, given they have sold Quansah, had interest in signing Dean Huijsen, and Ibrahima Konate is entering the final year of his contract.

The club plans to follow laid-out strategies rather than being drawn to any particular name on the market, and that plan includes a preferred profile for the position in question.

Given their recent spending, they also have a limited budget, particularly for a position in which they have already proven quality and depth.

That being said, Liverpool would only consider deviating from that preferred profile in the event of a significant market opportunity becoming available.

Marc Guehi is a player they are interested in, but his fee is expected to be high. 

Guehi wants to be a first-choice player wherever he goes, if he is to leave Crystal Palace this summer. It does not make sense for him to move on to be a backup, especially in a season that precedes a World Cup.

Liverpool is also well-stocked at centre-back, even without Quansah – they have Virgil Van Dijk, Konate, and Joe Gomez. 

Manager Arne Slot has also shown a willingness to deploy Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch at centre-back, too, if need be.

Liverpool Agree with Bayern Munich Terms for Luis Diaz

Luis Diaz has reportedly agreed to personal terms with Bayern Munich, despite Barcelona making a new approach, and how a Liverpool sale would benefit Manchester United has been revealed.

Diaz, 28, has entered the final two years of his contract at Anfield. The Colombian is a vital asset for Arne Slot and co and enjoyed his most productive campaign in a Liverpool shirt last season, notching 17 goals and eight assists across all competitions.

However, Diaz is in a peculiar situation on Merseyside, as he is relatively underpaid for a player of his calibre, and Liverpool has no intention of offering a new deal.

The Reds are fully prepared to let Diaz leave as a free agent in 2027, knowing that at the age of 30 at that time, they’ll have benefited from Diaz’s prime years.

Furthermore, Diaz being present over the next two seasons will aid their chances of lifting major honours. After successive windows of relative inaction, the Reds have splashed the cash this summer and hope to embark on a period of dominance.

Diaz has displayed no public dissatisfaction with his situation at Liverpool, though that’s not stopped high-powered sides from sensing an opportunity.

Liverpool tickets for the pre-season will be open soon.