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Jurgen Klopp has said Liverpool’s preseason will offer the perfect platform for new signings Naby Keita and Fabinho to adapt to learn and adapt to their style.
Keita and Fabinho were both present at Melwood on Monday to undergo testing as a total of 26 Liverpool players returned to the club after the summer break.
Speaking to Liverpool’s official website , Klopp stressed the importance of having the duo in attendance right at the start of Liverpool’s summer schedule, which will see them play nine friendlies, starting on Saturday at Chester FC.
“Very, very happy to finally have Naby here. It took a while,” Klopp said. “Fabinho is also here and that’s perfect for the moment.
“It’s even better they can start from the first day with the training because they have to learn the most, they have to adapt to our style of play.
“We have nine games until the season starts and we will need them all. They all are important in a different way. They are here, we can start, that’s good.”
Those players who have been on international duty over the summer will return at a later date, having been granted an extended break.
Preparing for the upcoming campaign, Klopp wants his Liverpool side to build on their consecutive top-four finishes and appearance in last season’s Champions League final.
“That’s the plan,” he added. “We are always ambitious, we are still ambitious, so we did a few nice things in the last couple of years, but we know as well that we can still improve so we want to build on the things we’ve achieved so far.
“We know all the good things, we know all the not so good things. Life is always [about] learning from your experiences, I hope we can show that.
“The first day is a testing day so the boys have to show how they worked through the summer period.
“I had a rest apart from being on the telephone for plenty of hours, but the boys will obviously have a programme — and if they did it the tests will be good and we won’t have to do that much physical work, but if they didn’t it will be a little bit more intense!”
Ahead of the start of the preseason, Liverpool announced that Mohamed Salah had signed a new five-year contract at the club as a reward for his record-breaking first campaign on Merseyside.
“It is a fantastic sign, I love it,” Klopp said. “It only shows the big difference this club has made.
“For the boys, they really know we are back on track. We are not where we want to be, but we are on a good way.
“These kind of players like him and Bobby [Firmino], they want to stay and be part of this in the future and that’s really a fantastic sign. It’s a big achievement for all of us.
“I really think the atmosphere around the club is again exceptional. That is what we all enjoy over the season and now we know that for quite a long time Mo Salah will be a part of it.”
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