Liverpool news recap: Trent INJURY, major EXIT, Gakpo SNUB
Here's our round-up of all the latest Liverpool news today (Friday 25 October) as a family friend is jailed over Luis Diaz kidnap plot.
Trent Alexander-Arnold's injury
James Pearce is reporting in The Athletic that Trent has been playing with a small injury since returning from international duty with England.
Pearce describes the injury as 'some discomfort' but that Trent 'keeps on putting himself out there'. Amongst all the discussion of him leaving or staying at the club, the concept of him being injured seemed impossible.
"He has played through the discomfort of a muscle strain, sustained towards the end of England’s second international against Finland two weeks ago," Pearce writes.
Gakpo snubs Liverpool teammates
Cody Gakpo has been enjoying his time under new head coach Arne Slot at Liverpool this season.
He has made an appearance in every game so far in some capacity, starting five of Liverpool’s twelve matches on the left wing. He has also bagged two goals and two assists so far.
These have vital been contributions to Liverpool’s overall excellent start to the season that sees them currently top of the Premier League and second in the Champions League table, one of just two sides who have a 100% record in the European competition alongside Aston Villa.
And, as it always is, this is down to the performances of the team. Trent Alexander-Arnold is in great form, both Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are rocks in defence, Ryan Gravenberch is arguably the best defensive midfielder in the world this season, and Mo Salah is doing Mo Salah things with 14 goal involvements already.
Hughes pays tribute after exit
Liverpool formally announced on Friday evening that Dave Fallows will leave the Reds after 12 years. Sporting director Richard Hughes paid tribute in a statement.
Fallows will leave as Liverpool's director of scouting and recruitment. He initially joined as a scout back in 2012 after working for a string of Premier League clubs.
His fingerprints are on some of the most important transfers in Liverpool's history. The Reds' system of combining data-driven scouting with traditional scouting and video analysis has delivered incredible results over the last decade - and Fallows has been there through it all.
Luis Diaz kidnapping update
The kidnap of Luis Diaz’s parents, Luis Manuel Diaz and Cilenis Marulanda, in Barrancas, Colombia last year was a story that shocked the football world to its core.
Diaz’s father was held in captivity for 12 days by the National Liberation Army of Colombia (Spanish: Ejército de Liberación Nacional, ELN) whilst Diaz’s mother was released a few hours after the kidnapping.
It emerged later that the kidnap had been facilitated by a man named Yerdinson Bolivar who was a close friend of the Diaz Marulanda family.
Alexander-Arnold confirms change under Slot
Trent Alexander-Arnold has talked about life under Arne Slot and confirms what's different under the new Liverpool boss.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is one of the most interesting players to watch under Arne Slot. If only because his incredibly uncertain future makes you want to analyse every movement.
But it's also the case that this is the first time Alexander-Arnold has someone new. Everyone else in the Liverpool squad, Curtis Jones aside, operated under a different manager and style before heading to Liverpool.