Liverpool will have played their first friendly of the summer by the end of the month as Arne Slot gears up for his maiden outing as Reds head coach.

The Dutchman has yet to sign his first Liverpool player but saw his club hold talks with Newcastle regarding Anthony Gordon last week. The ECHO understands that a deal fell through after the Magpies suggested that Gordon could be swapped for Jarell Quansah.

It is unclear who could be allowed to leave this summer, but Quansah is one of those concretely expected to stay. Virgil van Dijk, Trent-Alexander Arnold and Mohamed Salah are now all in the final year of their contracts but are also due to stay for another season as things stand.

Salah squad decision made

Wednesday marked the final day for nations to call up players for the Olympics and Egypt have decided not to select Salah. The ECHO reported last week that the winger looked likely to miss the Games, held in pre-season, and now the deadline for selections to be sent to FIFA has passed.

Wataru Endo has also not been taken by Japan, meaning Liverpool will have both available for the summer. The gold medal match takes place just eight days before the new Premier League season begins.

The ECHO says:With the Games not being a FIFA-sanctioned tournament, clubs are not obligated to allow their players to represent their countries at the Olympics. Endo had actually spoken of his desire to feature while Egypt were initially keen on Salah taking part.

But with this being Slot’s maiden summer, he will need as much time with his players as possible so Salah’s and Endo’s presence is a big bonus. Liverpool kick off their pre-season schedule against Real Betis on July 27, giving Slot only a few weeks to sort out his on-field plans before making his bow.

Gordon deal ‘never close’

Journalist Fabrizio Romano believes Liverpool and Newcastle were at no stage close to sealing a deal for the Anthony Gordon, albeit the player was very much eager to join the Reds. He said: “What I’m told is the deal was never really close between Liverpool and Newcastle.

“They had a conversation. They had an exchange about the possibility, but the price tag was way too high for Liverpool to make things happen.

“A swap deal was also really complicated as Liverpool didn’t want to lose some of their best players. So, it was an idea, it was a conversation but it was never something really close.

“The player was over the moon – the player was keen on joining Liverpool. But at the end between the two clubs, like Alexander Isak with Chelsea, it was never something really concrete.”